Environmental Benefits of Pervious Concrete Concrete Can Be Recycled When the time comes to demolish a concrete structure or pavement, the material need not be wasted. It can be crushed and used as aggregate, base material or as a paving material. Even rebar can be recycled. And while it is being crushed it is absorbing CO2. Concrete Pavement Being Prepared to be Crushed and Recycled Concrete Can Be Made Pervious to Improve the Environment Concrete can be made porous. This is done by removing sand and fines from the mix, and adjusting the cement paste with admixtures for maximum strength. The base and the pervious concrete mix is made of sustainable materials. It is installed inside of steel forms rather than wood. Steel is stronger, straighter and being reused, it does not use up trees.
When being installed correctly the process is relatively fast. With the right equipment, a 9 yard truckload can be placed and compacted in an average of 45 minutes. This reduces emissions from the ready-mix trucks. Pervious Concrete allows 6 to 18 gallons of water to pass through to be stored in the base, the aquifer or the surrounding soil. The top 1-1/2" filters out oil, grease, cigarette butts, squashed road-kill and other particulates. From there filtered water is either is drawn up by roots through trees or plants, or it just evaporates through the pavement. All of this helps cool the environment. Pervious Concrete is an excellent tool to help the environment, and it will last a long time if installed correctly. Even when clogged with sand it will allow more water through than Bahia grass. Proper compaction immediately after placing, brings aggregate and cement paste into close contact. This allows the paste to enter the pores of the limestone to create a strong mechanical bond. Without this immediate compaction, that bond is not achieved and raveling will occur as shown in picture on left. Proper compaction on the right prevents this from happening. Because of our over 25 years experience installing Pervious Concrete correctly we can provide a 10 year warranty! Pervious Concrete lets this new Walgreens Drugstore Parking lot help to heal the thirsty aquifer below. Pervious Concrete installed at Tampa International Airport allows this tree to continue to drink when it rains.
Charger's success comes from more than three decades of experience and continuous training. Concrete evidence you get more than you pay for! For successful installation every crew member is trained to work as a part of a precision team. From the moment that the ready mix truck arrives a smooth choreography swings into motion placing, vibrating, roller compacting, misting and covering with polyethylene. To see an example please view our installation video. 2008 Charger Enterprises, Inc. Florida Contractors Lic Contamination Drive-thrus, gas stations, parking lots and driveways catch the most oil and grease. Roads are next. They also collect heavy metals from engines and catalytic converters, and harmful components from rubber tires. When it rains, they become large polluters. Most rain events produce one inch or less of rain. Too many impervious surfaces short-circuit nature s design, preventing the earth from getting the water it needs, by diverting it into storm sewers, streams and other bodies of water. We needlessly waste a precious commodity. That first inch of rain becomes loaded with pollutants from roads, parking lots and driveways. It is often more toxic than sanitary sewer water. The previous concrete above, right; with its porous surface traps oil and grease as well as metal particles.
2008 Charger Enterprises, Inc. Florida Contractors Lic Storm Water Damage If you enjoy fishing, conventional pavements are against your interests. Asphalt and conventional pavements absorb the sun s rays and convert them to heat. When it rains, the temperatures of storm water run offs may be elevated 10 to 30. That warm water can stress or kill marine life, water plants and helpful bacteria. Elevated temperatures decrease the amount of oxygen in streams and estuaries which in turn decreases development of fish eggs, young fish and plankton which are the first link in the marine food chain. Unfiltered storm water discharged into streams and estuaries also carries fertilizers, pesticides, soils and other pollutants which can kill marine life either directly or indirectly. Indirectly, suspended particles can absorb more sunlight thus further raising water temperatures. This is also contributes to algae blooms like red tides which rob additional oxygen from streams, estuaries, lakes and salt water bodies. What happens when oil or grease gets on conventional pavements? Every time it rains some of it is emulsified into the rain water and washed into catch basins through storm water drains and then into streams, estuaries and finally into the Gulf of Mexico or Oceans. Along the way it drops off toxic sediment. With pervious concrete it is contained by the concrete. Then the sun boils off volatiles, and the remaining carbon is absorbed by soil where plants, fungus or microbes digest it.
As more and more land is covered by impervious serfaces, rain suddenly becomes destructive. Unconstrained storm water floods adjecent properties, roads, streams and estuaries eroding embankments, destroying plant life and causing flooding downstream, sometimes with resulting loss of life. Stream embankments are eroded and have to be repaired with cement or cement bads. Pervious concrete diverts rain water where it belongs, into the soil and the aquifer. Down stream, toxic sediment is deposited and has to be regularly removed at significant cost. 2008 Charger Enterprises, Inc. Florida Contractors Lic Global Warming Black pavements and hot impervious roofs are taking more and more natural planted surfaces out of doing what they do best. Natural surfaces like grass and trees absorb sunlight and through
photosynthesis they remove that Global Warming gas, Carbon Dioxide, as well as other pollutants from the air we breathe. Also their roots and foliage help trap storm water and move it to the underground aquifer. If you are concerned about global warming, consider this: Asphalt pavements absorb more of the heat of the sun. This adds to the problem. Because asphalt is so widely used it creates heat islands as its black or grey surface absorbs sunlight. In summer its temperature may climb to 140 F or more. That heat requires more air conditioning thus requiring more electricity. Most electricity is generated using fossil fuels. So not only does this waste money, but in making electricity, power plants create more greenhouse gasses. Even impervious concrete absorbs much heat from the sun. Of the three, pervious concrete is the coolest. When it rains on hot pavements, the rain evaporates more quickly. Less water reaches the aquifer or other runoff receptors. Without Pervious Pavements, what eventually reaches streams, estuaries, the bays, the Intracoastal Waterway and the Gulf of Mexico or ocean is warmer water. It affects everything living in those waters changing the balance of nature. ASPHALT = HOT PERVIOUS CONCRETE = COOL 2008 Charger Enterprises, Inc. Florida Contractors Lic