Located in the expansive Novant Cotswold Medical district on Randolph Road in Charlotte, North Carolina, a new office building designed to support a variety of medical services had some special considerations for their new parking lot: stormwater runoff on a space-limited site. The design plan needed to comply with stormwater quality and storage regulations, with sensitivity to businesses on the lower side of the property, as well as a residential neighborhood behind the building.
MPV Properties, the developer, met with the design engineers and contractors to find the best method to manage stormwater runoff with the least impact on surrounding properties and residents.
THE CHALLENGE
According to Kevin Caldwell, president of GeoScience Group, a 40-person engineering and design firm, the property layout did not have the space needed for a typical underground detention system. They initially looked at a subsurface sand filter and vault system, but there was little elevation difference between the parking surface and the outfall. The vault detention system could not go very deep and would therefore not only require a larger footprint but would also increase the heights of the retaining walls surrounding the parking lot incurring increased costs.
“We were looking for a more cost-effective solution that could work just as efficiently as a large underground detention system,” says Caldwell. After conferring with Belgard’s commercial engineering team, he found the best option was to use Permeable Interlocking Concrete Pavers (PICP), although the developer was not familiar with them and was concerned about structural capacity and suitability of the surface for people accessing a medical building. “After providing a number of examples of similar projects where permeable pavers had been used, we moved ahead with the Belgard team, relying on their design and engineering knowledge of PICP systems. Overall, we saved the developer over $200,000 by using a permeable paver system.”
THE SOLUTION
The Cotswold district medical building was the first project for GeoScience engineers using a PICP system to meet both quantity and quality objectives for the City of Charlotte. Paul Cureton, P.E. of Belgard’s commercial engineering team provided a permeable paver concept demonstrating how the system would meet the needs of the project, and several rounds of comments and suggestions on the design plans. The resulting project has 44,000 square feet of Belgard Aqualine 80 mm 4.5-inch by 9-inch permeable pavers mechanically installed in herringbone pattern by Unit Paving of Charlotte. The color chosen was Fossil. Cureton and his team provided valuable practical guidance on how to optimize the permeable pavement design.
The Belgard permeable paver system meets the city and state’s water quality treatment objectives and the combination of storage with an appropriately designed outlet control structure meets the city’s peak flow release rate requirements. “It’s also aesthetically nicer to have pavers as the driving surface.”
The system’s ingenuity starts when water infiltrates through the paver surface. That’s where the required water treatment occurs as it filters through the aggregate between the pavers meeting the requirements for a primary Stormwater Control Measure (SCM) in North Carolina. Storage is then provided in the void space in the open graded aggregate layers. The void space between the individual rocks and the thickness of the stone layer is the key to providing sufficient storage, slowing and protecting the downstream properties from increased peak flows. “Post-development release rates and pre-development have to equal out—the peak flows can’t be increased,” says Caldwell. “In fact, PICP systems’ release rates may even be even less than pre-development rates, with some soil infiltration.”
HOW IT WORKS
The storage element of the PICP system is also what Caldwell describes as a series of cells formed by subsurface flow dams or baffles made of strips of vertically oriented impermeable liner. The flow dams maximize the available storage in the open graded aggregate layers. The cell is multi-stage using a small hole (orifice) in the center of the baffle for low flows and the top of the baffle as a weir for larger flows. The cells act as separate storage units with water flowing downhill, one to the next, to manage the rate of flow. In a rare-event storm it will go over the top, however Caldwell designed it so that it has enough storage to drain slowly from one to the other, finally discharging what is stored.
For permeable paver systems, the stormwater is filtered at the surface and sediment is removed and collected in the aggregate filled joints, which is why permeable paver systems are easy and inexpensive to maintain. The joint material can then be vacuumed out and replaced to restore the system. Conveyance of stormwater occurs through the voids in the stone eliminating the need for most of the piping associated with conventional stormwater systems. “There is no need for additional water treatment with PICP,” says Caldwell. “A bonus of the paver system is a nicer look, with a more upscale aesthetic that holds up very well to harsh conditions.”
Once the excavation and PICP bedding layers and stone were installed for the parking lot by Unit Paving of Charlotte, the crew began to lay the 44,000 square feet of Belgard Aqualine pavers. Scott Michaud, owner, said his crew mechanically laid the pavers with a PaverMax machine and were there for 3 weeks start to finish.”
CLOSING THOUGHT
As the interior work and outer landscaping finished up, the building has been readied for the new tenants. The end result is a nicer looking parking lot that saved the developer significantly over a detention system in time, labor and costs. “We had 5 inches of rain and passed the infiltration tests with flying colors—there was nothing leaving the discharge pipe,” says Caldwell. “This is the first permeable paver parking lot in the area and the developer is thrilled. He plans to use PICP for all future developed properties and parking lots.”
For more information:
Belgard, part of Oldcastle APG, offers a complete collection of paver and wall products for outdoor living spaces, walkways, driveways, parking areas, and retaining walls. Available in a range of styles, premium Belgard products have been found in America’s finest homes and award-winning commercial and retail properties since 1995. For more, visit belgard.com.
Modern Contractor Solutions, February 2021
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