Permeable pavements are a common solution for stormwater management. Porous areas in the pavements allow water to percolate into the subsurface layers, reducing surface runoff. However, it is common for substances to clog the voids, decreasing the porous area and permeability of the pavement system. This study examined the change in permeability over time at a site with two permeable pavement systems, the JW Eco-technology (JW) and pervious concrete (PC). Square frames SF-4 and SF-9 were used to perform falling-head and constant-head permeability tests, respectively. Results show that JW had a similar permeability across the test locations, 6.27-7.64 cm/s when using SF-4, and 0.95-1.00 cm/s when using SF-9. While the permeability at the center locations of PC showed no significant loss of permeability, there was a significant reduction of permeability on the corner and edge areas, where permeability ranged 0.28-1.73 cm/s using SF-4 and 0.14-0.36 cm/s using SF-9, suggesting the occurrence of clogging over time at corner locations. Furthermore, the measured values highlighted the measurement variability in permeability between the falling-head based method and the constant-head method, with measurements from SF-4 being approximately 6.2-7.6 and 2.0-5.7 times higher than those from SF-9 on JW and PC, respectively. In addition, as no current literature quantifies the relationship between permeability and extent of clogging for the JW Eco-technology pavement, evaluation of the proportionate change in permeability with respect to voids, or individual aqueducts, of JW pavement were investigated. While not a 1:1 linear relationship, data indicate that the permeability increased with an increase in non-blocked aqueducts. The JW pavement maintained more than 50% of its capacity when half of the aqueducts were fully blocked. Even when only one aqueduct was clear from clogging, the system had 36% (SF-4) and 19% (SF-9) of maximum permeable capacity.

Permeable pavements have the ability to reduce surface runoff by allowing water to infiltrate into the underlying soil. The potential of permeable pavements to assist in managing stormwater and improve water quality has gained attention as an option, other than conventional impermeable concrete for paving purposes. This study examined the permeability of three different pavement systems, including the JW Eco-technology pavement (JW), which has not previously been installed or studied in the U.S., standard impermeable concrete (IC), and pervious concrete (PC). Each pavement type was installed in triplicate. Devices based on the ASTM C1701/C1701M and ASTM C1781/C1781M constant-head methods, the National Center for Asphalt Technology (NCAT) falling-head permeameter, and two new square frames, SF-4 and SF-9, modified to fit the JW pavement, were utilized for permeability measurement on several locations of each pavement system. The results showed that the JW Eco-technology pavement had comparable permeability to the commonly used PC pavement in each method used. In addition, there was a strong correlation between the permeability measurements of NCAT method and SF-4, and between the ASTM standard and SF-9. The square frames used in this study showed their effectiveness and efficiency in performing permeability measurements. It was also found that the permeability obtained had a pronounced difference in values between the falling head and the constant head methods, with an average ratio ranging from 4.08–6.36.

Permeable pavement is an alternative to conventional impermeable pavement for various applications. However, a common issue with permeable pavement is clogging over time. Permeability is a parameter that reflects the capacity of the pavement to reduce surface runoff; a decline in permeability implies the occurrence of clogging. In this study, permeability data collected on pervious concrete (PC) and JW Eco-Technology (JW) revealed that JW maintained consistent permeability over time. However, PC displayed reduced values, and several locations along the edges had zero permeability, despite no regular vehicular and pedestrian use. Therefore, a portable pressure washer was used to clean the pavements. The cleaning procedure was able to recover the permeability of the areas that showed signs of clogging (0 to 2.69 cm/s) and restore the permeability of PC up to 4.60–5.58 cm/s for corner and center areas, respectively. Moreover, visual inspection using a borescope further revealed the full function of the JW pores (aqueducts), regardless of cleaning. Regardless, it is recommended that periodic cleaning maintenance be performed for both PC and JW using a pressure washer due to its convenience and efficacy, which will be discussed.

Environmental impacts, such as elevated temperatures due to urban heat islands (UHIs), associated with land cover change due to urbanization, should not be ignored. In contrast to conventional impermeable concrete, permeable pavements have been implemented as green infrastructure strategies for achieving environmental benefits, such as stormwater management. Their impacts and benefits on other environmental aspects should not be ignored, especially for those with limited discussion in the literature. Therefore, this study monitored the surface and air temperatures of three types of pavements: conventional impermeable concrete (IC), pervious concrete (PC), and the patented JW Eco-technology (JW). As UHIs are more intense in the summer, temperature profiles during targeted periods when surface temperatures exceeded 40 °C for consecutive days were examined. In addition, as an available option at the study site, shade was created to evaluate its effect on surface temperatures across the pavement systems. Overall, the annual average surface and air temperatures of the three pavements were similar. However, seasonal and diurnal variations in temperatures were both observed, suggesting summer was the season when the differences in temperatures among pavements were most noticeable. Investigation during the targeted periods revealed that the average surface temperatures of PC were 2.4–2.7 °C and 3.2–3.3 °C higher than those observed on IC and JW, and the average air temperature of PC was 1.8 °C greater than that of IC and JW between 12:00 and 16:00. On the contrary, the average surface temperatures of PC were significantly lower than those on IC (1.3–1.4 °C) and JW (1.5 °C) between 21:00 and 5:00. Results also indicate that shade was an effective way to alleviate the high surface temperatures during the warm hours by lowering surface temperatures 21.0 °C, 15.4 °C, and 15.0 °C, for PC, IC, and JW, respectively. Finally, temperatures associated with the aqueducts of JW Eco-technology and the impacts on overall surface temperatures will be discussed.