Inobative Permeable Parking Lots: Sustainable Stormwater Management at Classen-Steubing Ranch Park

Brief 

Discover how UTSA’s cutting-edge research utilises permeable parking lots at the new Classen-Steubing Ranch Park, aiming to enhance water quality and promote sustainable stormwater management.

Insight

The new 204-acre Classen-Steubing Ranch Park is home to an innovative approach to stormwater management, featuring four types of permeable parking lots. These lots have been installed as part of a research project led by Professors Marcio Giacomoni and Tom Papagiannakis of the Margie and Bill Klesse College of Engineering and Integrated Design. The lots utilise permeable materials, allowing rainfall to filter through, rather than pooling or running off.

The research focus is the potential for these different pavements, including permeable asphalt, plastic grid pavers, permeable concrete, and permeable interlocking concrete pavers, to improve water quality. The location of the park, sitting above the Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone, provides a natural laboratory setting for monitoring the impacts of these permeable surfaces on the water source for South Central Texas residents.

Funding for this project is provided by the City of San Antonio’s 2015 Edwards Aquifer Protection Program Proposition 1 Venue Tax and administered by the San Antonio River Authority. The initiative seeks not only to improve water quality, but also to reduce storm water runoff, mitigate surface temperatures in recharge zones, and provide sustainable solutions for water management.

Collected rainwater will be evaluated for suspended solids, heavy metals, bacteria, and metals emitted from vehicles, with solar-powered boxes at the edge of each lot to measure the outflow for lab analysis. By comparing data collected pre-development, during construction, and after the installation of permeable surfaces, the team aims to evaluate how these materials help mitigate pollution.

The research project further intends to raise public awareness of sustainable solutions for stormwater management, integrating practical findings into the academic curriculum for UTSA students. This approach offers valuable insights on how sustainability can be integrated into infrastructure, while also examining the cooling effects of the permeable lots and their ability to treat stormwater runoff and offset flash floods.

Highlight

1.  The lots utilise permeable materials, allowing rainfall to filter through, rather than pooling or running off.
2. Collected rainwater will be evaluated for suspended solids, heavy metals, bacteria, and metals emitted from vehicles, with solar-powered boxes at the edge of each lot to measure the outflow for lab analysis.
3. The initiative seeks not only to improve water quality, but also to reduce storm water runoff, mitigate surface temperatures in recharge zones, and provide sustainable solutions for water management.

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