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Hurd Field Porous Pavement Education Project

On this page:

Background/Location
Benefits of Porous Pavement
Hurd Field Porous Pavement
Photo Gallery
Additional Resources on Porous Pavement

Background/Location

Rainwater and snow melt runs off the surface of traditional pavement and carries pollutants to our water ways. Porous pavement lets water infiltrate into the soil through gaps in all the layers to the groundwater. It also filters pollutants from stormwater and helps protect the water quality of Mill Brook. Since optimum performance of porous pavement depends on these air spaces, sand should not be used in the winter. Porous pavement must be vacuumed (not swept) clean to avoid clogging. Watch the video below to learn more about the porous pavement project on Hurd Field.

View this video (Porous Pavement Education Project: Hurd Field, Arlington, Mass.) on YouTube.

Benefits of Porous Pavement

Reduces the volume and velocity of runoff
Improves water quality by capturing the water and filtering it
Replenishes groundwater
Reduces impacts of flooding during storm events
Eliminates the need for sanding and reduces the need for road salt in winter months

Aerial photo of Hurd Field Parking Lot, Arlington, MA — View a larger aerial photo of the Hurd Field Parking Lot, Arlington, MA (pdf).

Hurd Field Porous Pavement

Cross section view of porous pavement and underlying substrate — See the final draft design of the parking lot (pdf).

Photo Gallery

Click on thumbnails to view
larger versions of images.

View of Mill Brook and Hurd Field parking lot looking west
View of Hurd Field parking lot looking north west (from Minuteman Bikeway)
Path leading to parking lot from Minuteman Bikeway
Northern side of parking lot, adjacent to Mill Brook
View of parking lot (looking east) with Hurd Field in the background
Erosion control measures installed around the perimeter of the site.
Existing asphalt being removed from the parking lot.
Existing asphalt being removed and ready to be taken off-site.
Site being graded and new materials being added.
One of the many boulders that was removed from the base-layer.
Construction crew digs one of two infiltration trenches.
A man operates a machine to pour the pavement.
A crew member rolls out recently poured pavement to make the surface smooth.
The pavement crew spreads a section of asphalt with shovels.
A section of the pavement to show the thickness of the pavement in place on the parking lot.
The parking lot after 2 layers of pavement have been poured, spread and rolled.
This picture shows the difference between the traditional pavement (on the left) and the porous pavement (on the right).
Another view of the seam between the traditional and porous pavement portions of the parking lot.
Regenerative Air Sweeper operator explains how to best maintain porous pavement.
Arlington Fire Department uses a firehose to demonstrate water infiltration through the porous pavement.
Water puddles on the traditional pavement, but has fully infiltrated through the porous pavement.
Dignitaries cutting the ribbon.
Former EPA Regional Administrator, Curt Spalding, discusses the importance of urban stormwater management and the benefits of porous pavement.
Mystic River Watershed Association Executive Director, EK Khalsa, discusses this project and its benefits to local waterways.
Arlington Town Manager, Adam Chapdelain, addresses the crowd.
EPA's Ken Moraff, emcee, greets the crowd and shares some personal stories about porous pavement and this parking lot.
Traditional pavement meets porous pavement.
A look at the finished pavement.

Additional Resources on Porous Pavement

Learn more about Low Impact Development and community projects by checking out EPA's Soak Up the Rain Campaign web site.

University of New Hampshire's Stormwater Center is a resource for information on porous pavement and other low-impact development methods.

Local land use officials addressing the relationship of land use to natural resource protection can learn more about low-impact development for stormwater management through The University of Connecticut's Nonpoint Education for Municipal Officials (NEMO) program.