An eco-friendly option
| Pervious concrete could be an eco-friendly option in urban areas,
where pavements are often not laid in a way that is conducive to rain
water drainage. |
– Photo: A. Roy Chowdhury
Earthy: Pave gardens or walkways in an eco-friendly way.
Water, along with air, constitutes the most critical factor
that sustains life on earth. From being the fountain of life to
energy-generator, water is earth’s lifeblood and sustainer.
But protecting the source of life on earth, recharging its sources, nestling
it from pollution has become urgent, expensive and all too important.
The problem is more serious as the proportion of land paved with impervious
materials continues to grow as in urban areas.
The concepts of green and sustainable buildings take into consideration not
just the optimum use of water but also the best way to handle it, away from
pollution, recharging its sources and making water serve our purposes in the
most pristine of ways possible to humans.
Porous
The use of porous materials to pave gardens or walkways, in landscaping and
purely for keeping a place tidy, has become a pressing need today. If bricks,
concrete grids and plain granite slabs planted at specific distances that
allowed seepage of water into the ground were used extensively in the past for
paving walkways and gardens, the in-thing is the use of slabs, tile or even
plain concrete.
Impervious concrete, like asphalt do not help water seep into the grounds.
They not only do not help recharge ground water but also add to the problem
of water logging.
The problem is more acute in places where the drainage is poor and are
densely populated, Kochi being the prime candidate for being cited as an example
of the problem.
Easy solution
The problem finds an easy and obvious solution in using porous materials.
Pervious concrete that is widely used in developed countries where the concept
of green houses are catching up fast is an example. So is porous asphalt.
Pervious concrete helps manage storm-water runoff better. There is no sand
used in the making of pervious concrete so that there are enough pores to let
water sink.
Porous concrete slabs can be widely used in gardens and in landscaping.
Adding aesthetically pleasing colours provides an added advantage. Similarly,
porous asphalt can be used to help manage storm water runoffs. Asphalt is a
highly viscous liquid and is now widely understood as bitumenised concrete used
for paving surfaces.
K.A. MARTIN
Courtesy:
Property Plus, The Hindu
