Porous pavement wins sustainability award

PORTLAND, Ore.—The Oregon Chapter of the American Public Works Association recently awarded the Port of Portland, Ore., its Julian Prize for Sustainability. The Terminal 6 Auto Warehousing Company Expansion Porous Pavement Project, constructed in 2006, installed 35 acres of porous asphalt at one of the port’s auto-import facilities. Porous asphalt allows stormwater to drain through the surface and recharge the groundwater.

Century West Engineering designed improvements to the auto storage area, including new pavement, fencing, landscaping, and lighting. To manage more effectively the large volume of stormwater runoff that would have been generated from a traditional impervious surface, the design team used a porous pavement system and a series of swales and natural vegetation to infiltrate 100 percent of the stormwater from the additional acreage.

Century West Engineering partnered with GreenWorks, a Portland-based landscape architecture firm with a sustainable design focus, and Cahill Associates, a nationally-recognized stormwater management expert specializing in porous pavement. According to Century West, amenities such as the project’s rain garden and bioswales demonstrate successful collaboration between functional engineering and landscape aesthetics to manage complex stormwater issues. Additionally, use of porous pavement saved $250,000 by reducing permitting requirements and eliminating a stormwater system.