Urban design affects the health and wellbeing of populations living in cities. Globally, urban landscape is constantly changing with vegetation being replaced with hard, impervious surfaces that contribute to an increase in air temperatures, stormwater runoff and pollution.
Water is essential in keeping urban forest and green spaces healthy and cooling in the city. The sustainable use of water is directly linked to liveability.
Additionally, it’s estimated that Australia’s urban areas produce approximately 3000 GL of runoff annually - with less than 3% of this rainwater and stormwater being re-used. Furthermore, Australian cities draw an estimated 2100 GL of water from their catchments and groundwater sources annually.
Determined to make a difference, PPC Australia undertook research to learn how permeable concrete technology could help combat the problem. EnviroKerb has been designed to help manage stormwater with a rainfall interception tactic - capturing the rainfall at the source and thereby reducing the flow and recycling stormwater for irrigation purposes - before it enters any waterways.
Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) plays a crucial role in how our cities are being designed.
Current best practice WUSD technologies utilise vegetative systems to promote rainfall interception, adsorption and biological processing of water borne pollutants.
Current stormwater systems in Australia take rainwater from our streets and guttering into the closest waterway - untreated.
Unlike sewage, stormwater is not treated before it enters our waterways.
In some cases, it is filtered by traps or wetlands — usually located at the end of the pipe system — but in most cases it flows directly from our streets and gutters into our creeks, rivers, bays and the ocean, carrying harmful toxins, litter and pollutants.
EnviroKerb technology aims to provide a solution for pollution control to reverse current systems and positively impact the environment by treating the stormwater at the source – thereby removing the need for further inline treatments.
Water capture and management is essential in keeping urban forests and green spaces healthy and to also cool our cities.