Paved surfaces, they’re so widespread and common that few of us think much about their effect on water quality and the environment. The reality is that as more land is paved, more rainwater falls on that pavement rather than soaking into the ground. Traditional paving techniques create “impervious” surfaces, that is, surfaces that can’t be penetrated by water. The results of an increasing amount of impervious surfaces include erosion, flash floods, depletion of the water table and pollution.

The obvious solution to these problems would be to simply stop installing impervious surfaces. If only it were so easy. But wait! More >