Permeable pavements: Life Cycle Costs

Placement of permeable pavers during construction.

Overview

Permeable Pavers are an alternative to traditional impervious pavements that allow stormwater to drain through them and into a storage reservoir below. Depending on the native soil properties and site constraints, the system may be designed for full infiltration, partial infiltration, or as a non-infiltrating detention and filtration only practice. They can be used for low traffic roads, parking, driveways, and walk ways, and are ideal where space for other surface BMPs is limited. Permeable pavement types include: • permeable interlocking pavers (concrete or composite materials) • grid systems (concrete or composite materials) • pervious concrete (poured-in-place or pre-cast) • porous asphalt • permeable articulating block/mat systems

For the sake of this page and associated costs/figures below the inmformation found here relate to Permeable Pavers, for costs and information associated with Porous Asphalt click here. STEP conducted life cycle costs estimates for each of permeable pavements 3 design configurations which can be viewed below. To design your own life cycle cost estimates that can be adapted to fit your project budget and unique development needs access the updated LCCT Tool here.

Design Guidance

Permeable pavers are ideal for sites with limited space and projects such as low traffic roads, parking lots, driveways and walkways. Components include: interlocking pavers, precast pervious slabs, cast in place surface, bedding course, and underground storage layer. Additional components include an underdrain to remove excess water and soil additives to enhance pollutant removal.

STEP recommendations:

• Bedding layer and joint filler should consist of clear stone and gravel rather than sand to prevent clogging.
• Granular materials should not be applied as anti-skid agents during winter because they can quickly clog the system.
• Winter maintenance practices should be limited to plowing, with de-icing salts applied sparingly.
• The slope of the permeable pavement surface should be at least 1% and no greater than 5%.
• The impervious land surrounding and draining onto the pavement should not exceed the area of the permeable pavement (1:1 / I:P ratio).
• Pervious surfaces should not drain onto the pavement.
• The storage layer must be sized to accommodate runoff from the pavement and any impermeable areas draining to it.
  

Tool defaults based on STEP recommendations:

• Maximum drainage area to surface area ratio of 1:1 (or 4:1 for roofs that contribute clean runoff to the practice)
• Default Bedding depth of 50 millimeters.
• Default Base depth of 100 millimeters.
• An underdrain (minimum 150 mm perforated pipe) is only needed when native soil infiltration is less than 15 mm/hr or infiltration is precluded.

Design Notes

• The tool calculates costs for new designs and includes costs for contractor overhead and profit, material, delivery, labour, equipment (rental, operating and operator costs), hauling and disposal. Mobilization and demobilization costs not included. The tool adds 10% contingency and additional overhead.
• Design and Engineering cost estimates are not calculated by the tool and must be supplied by the user.
• Unit costs are based on 2018 pricing; the tool automatically adds inflation. See the Assumptions sheet in the tool for further details.
• The cost of retrofitting is ~16% higher than the cost of new construction.
  • Retrofit costs are included in the 'Costs Summary' section and can be added to the Total Construction Cost for increased accuracy.
    

Note: Permeable Pavements (all 3 design scenarios): Assumes that replacement of pavers occurs at 8 years, and a full rehabilitation of the practice is performed at 30 years.

Construction Costs

Construction Costs Per Unit Drainage Area (CAD$/m²) - No Infiltration Design, 25 mm Retention

Construction Costs Per Unit Drainage Area (CAD$/m²) - Partial Infiltration Design, 25 mm Retention

Construction Costs Per Unit Drainage Area (CAD$/m²) - Full Infiltration Design, 25 mm Treatment

Note: Please click on each image to enlarge to view associated construction cost results.

Above you can find a cost breakdown of a 1000m² in three different configurations:

1. Non-infiltrating/filtration only Permeable Pavement,
2. Partial infiltration Permeable Pavement
3. Full infiltration Permeable Pavement

As can be seen the greatest cost for this practice (regardless of configuration type) will be Material & Installation, which include costly components such as the, impermeable membrane/liner, the underdrain, the Permeable pavements#Foundation Aggregatessub-base of 50mm clear stone, base of 19mm clear stone and the bedding pavers themselves.

Life Cycle Costs

Below are both the capital and life cycle costs of the three bioretention configuration practices over a 25 and 50-year time horizon based on a detailed assessment of local input costs, maintenance requirements, rehabilitation costs and design scenarios relevant to Canadian climates. The costs of maintenance and rehabilitation (Life cycle costs) are set at "Present Value" of these activities in 2022.

Looking at the pie charts below for each configuration we can see that they are all relatively close to being the same cost with a variation of a few hundred dollars between each over both a 25 and 50-year time horizon. The percentage of the Full Infitlration configuration is greater than the other two due to the lesser cost of the overall installation for material and Installation, (no underdrains, no gravel storage layer or impermeable membrane, etc.).

25-Year life cycle cost break down

Bioretention: Full infiltration

Bioretention: Non-infiltrating

Bioretention: Partial infiltration

Note: Please click on each image to enlarge to view associated life cycle cost results.

50-Year life cycle cost break down

Bioretention: Full infiltration

Bioretention: Non-infiltrating

Bioretention: Partial infiltration

Note: Please click on each image to enlarge to view associated life cycle cost results.

Total Cost & Design Summary

As previously discussed the three Bioretention configurations total cost summary vary greatly dependent on whether you want you feature to possess full infiltration, no infiltration, or partial infiltration. In short the most expensive of this options is the Bioretention: Partial infiltration option ($113,800.83 vs. $109,113.76 - no infiltration and $80,392.33 - full infiltration). The same can be said for construction + associated retrofit costs with each configuration design ($132,008.97 vs. $126,571.96 - no infiltration and $93,255.10 - full infiltration) This configuration allows for the greatest storage volume (187.5 m³) compared to its counterparts at 145³ for no infiltration and 107.5³ for full infiltration; all while having the exact same surface area footprint of 250m². As a note it is important to understand your site's surrounding native soil infiltration rate to ensure you are selecting the appropriate design.

A final note in the accuracy of the LCCT. A follow up sensitivity analysis study was conducted by CVC & STEP back in 2019 to test the tool's accuracy. The analysis took designs from 6 completed projects (4 bioretention, 1 permeable pavement, and 1 infiltration trench), and ran them through the tool comparing construction costing results from the LCCT to actual construction costs for the projects. The accuracy target set for the tool was plus-or-minus 30% of actual construction costs.

The analysis found that the tool was on average (±14%) to actual construction costs

Full Infiltration

STEP staff member conducting performance analysis of a bioretention feature at Kortright Centre in Vaughan, ON. (Source: STEP, 2016)

Partial Infiltration

Non-Infiltrating/filtration only

A hard surface area (e.g., road, parking area or rooftop) that prevents or retards the infiltration of water into the soil.

An underlying bed filled with aggregate or other void-forming fill material that temporarily stores stormwater before infiltrating into the native soil or being conveyed by an underdrain pipe.

The natural ground material characteristic of or existing by virtue of geographic origin.

The slow movement of water into or through a soil or drainage system.

Penetration of water through the ground surface.

The temporary storage of stormwater to control discharge rates, and allow for sedimentation.

The technique of removing pollutants from runoff as it infiltrates through the soil.

An alternative practice to traditional impervious pavement, prevents the generation of runoff by allowing precipitation falling on the surface to infiltrate through the surface course into an underlying stone reservoir and, where suitable conditions exist, into the native soil.

A mixture of mineral aggregates bound with bituminous materials, used in the construction and maintenance of paved surfaces.

Sustainable Technologies Evaluation Program

A perforated pipe used to assist the draining of soils.

Gravel, or crushed stone of various size gradations (i.e., diameter), used in construction; void forming material used as bedding and runoff storage reservoirs and underdrains in stormwater infiltration practices.

An alternative practice to traditional impervious pavement, prevents the generation of runoff by allowing precipitation falling on the surface to infiltrate through the surface course into an underlying stone reservoir and, where suitable conditions exist, into the native soil.

The total surface area upstream of a point on a stream that drains toward that point. Not to be confused with watershed. The drainage area may include one or more watersheds.

The portion of water precipitated onto a catchment area, which then flows as surface discharge from the catchment area past a specified point.

Water from rain, snow melt, or irrigation that flows over the land surface.

A shallow excavated surface depression containing prepared filter media, mulch, and planted with selected vegetation.

The rate at which stormwater percolates into the subsoil measured in inches per hour.

Credit Valley Conservation

The slow movement of water into or through a soil or drainage system.

Penetration of water through the ground surface.

A shallow excavated surface depression containing prepared filter media, mulch, and planted with selected vegetation.

Low impact development is a stormwater management and land development strategy applied at the parcel and subdivision scale that emphasizes conservation and use of on-site natural features integrated with engineered, small scale hydrologic controls to more closely mimic pre-development hydrologic functions.

A stormwater management strategy that seeks to mitigate the impacts of increased urban runoff and stormwater pollution by managing it as close to its source as possible. It comprises a set of site design approaches and small scale stormwater management practices that promote the use of natural systems for infiltration and evapotranspiration, and rainwater harvesting.