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I do not know if this helps but I work for a Concrete Manufacturing Company in Wisconsin and we have facilities throughout WI and Illinois. I have designed a new permeable paver that we will be introducing in 2007. I have done a lot of research and attended the Permeable Paver course at Pave Tech. The class was taught by Advanced Pavement Technology. The system is designed to have more effient storm water management and improve the quality of storm water run-off. Clear stone (no fines) are to be utilized throughout the entire installation. Depending on the application, you will need to use larger stones on the base and work your way up to smaller stones. The bedding course is to be 3/8" clear stone. Fabric is not suggested because it could retain fines and act like a coffee filter, but geogrid would work fine for the larger jobs. Most applications will start with 3" size stones and downsize every 3"-4" until you get to the bedding stone of 3/8" . I have been told that the 3/8" stones are easier to set up for the pavers than one would think.
Having a Permeable Parking lot of driveway "cleans" the run-off water before it gets to the rivers, streams, lakes, etc.. In some situations it may elliminate having to have a retention pond, or require a smaller pond on site. Land is very expensive so the savings could be huge. This system does not require a large pitch. 1% pitch (+/-) is suggested for most applications.
The Turfstone Pavers that was mentioned earlier are mainly designed for erosion control, however they do act as a permeable paver. The issue with this system is that they are a risk managers nightmare. They do not work well with high heals, and with the use of canes and walkers. Another positive with this system is that the area will stay drier and warmer in the winter because of all the air pockets throughout the system.
The downside is that the 3/16" six stones that get swept between the joints can get a little messy. They can come out and get scattered around from time to time. The voids will eventually get "plugged" and will need to be power washed out or sucked up with a sweeping machine. This is suggested to be done every 5-7 years.
There are advantages and disadvantages, but the end results can be huge savings for the owners and the LEEDS program suggests this application to be done on more and more jobs.
Sorry this was so long. Hope it helped.
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