New insights - sustainable urban drainage

An international research collaboration from Monash University, Istituto Universitario di Studi Superiori, Pavia and Brescia University is helping pave the way for more resilient, flood-ready cities.

The study examines how permeable pavements - a key part of sustainable urban drainage systems - perform over time under different maintenance strategies and different pedestrian and vehicular traffic conditions.

Researchers found that while pedestrian pavements maintained exceptionally high infiltration rates even after years without maintenance, heavily used car park surfaces became severely clogged.

The good news? Targeted maintenance can dramatically restore performance. Co-author Dr Brandon Winfrey of Monash Civil and Environmental Engineering says "It's important for managers to understand how to best maintain permeable pavements in a way that restores infiltration, but also provides the opportunity to prevent the release of fine sediment."

Pressure washing improved infiltration rates in clogged vehicular pavements by more than 4900%, while vacuum cleaning also delivered significant gains and proved practical for routine upkeep.

The research highlights the importance of ongoing monitoring and maintenance to ensure permeable pavements continue reducing stormwater runoff and support more sustainable urban environments.

Read the article published in Engineering Proceedings here.