Impact of climatic factors and groundwater level on the hydrologic performance of pervious concrete pavements

Pervious concrete pavements (PCPs), as one type of green stormwater infrastructure, have been increasingly adopted in urban watersheds to address stormwater challenges and restore the natural hydrologic cycle. However, the hydrologic performance of PCPs is significantly impacted by the change in climates and shallow groundwater. The change in climates provides higher requirements for PCPs' runoff reduction, thermal impact, and structural longevity. It also requires more consideration of the climate uncertainty in the designs of PCPs. The shallow groundwater environment impacts the infiltration, runoff reduction, and hydrologic restoration effects of PCPs and increases the sensitivity of groundwater to contamination due to enhanced stormwater infiltration by PCPs. To confront this limitation, at a planning level, PCPs can be well located in the watersheds to maintain an appropriate distance from the groundwater table; At a design level, the surface pavement material, subbase material, and the selection and location of underdrain can be selected to strike a balance between surface runoff control and groundwater protection.