Green Building/Leed Certification

  Green Building Design (Whole Building Concept) should begin in the Parking Lot.  LEED, the USGBC Green Building Rating System, recognizes pervious pavements in their application for certification credits.

Pervious Concrete is recognized as a green building material.  However LEED points aren't obtained just by using a specific product.  Pervious Concrete, in conjunction with the dual-use system can help to meet specific "green" goals that will gain one or more points under the LEED system.  Pervious concrete is also a rigid pavement and does not deform under traffic loading as other permeable pavements will such as precast paving blocks.  In addition, there is no resurfacing requirements as with asphalt pavements and this helps further to reduce pollution.

Designing for Sustainable Sites(SS) and Water Efficiency (WE) are two methods of obtaining points using pervious concrete pavements under the LEED system.  Observing the light-reflectance of pervious concrete pavements for SS Credit 7.1 can generate an additional point. 

Pervious Pavements are cost effective!  In some applications, the cost of installing pervious concrete pavements may be more expensive per square yard than some non-permeable pavements.  However, this cost can generally be offset by reducing or eliminating the need for drainage systems and/or retention ponds and their associated maintenance costs.  In addition to the cost savings, elimination of retention ponds can also help mee the goal of reducing site disturbance found in SS Credit 5.1 under Sustainable Sites and therefore help earn another LEED point.

There are many additional strategies that can be implemented by the LEED project team to obtain LEED credits when using Pervious Concrete Pavement systems.  Developers or their representatives should contact Bruce Glaspey with Magruder Construction about the design and/or construction of pervious concrete systems and their application toward LEED Certification.