By The Kansas City Star Editorial Board

It goes by many names: Pervious concrete, porous concrete, permeable concrete and — getting fancy here — enhanced-porosity concrete.

All of these terms describe a material that allows water to flow through it and into a rock base, then often into the ground below.
As a result, pervious concrete greatly reduces the amount of water surging into nearby streams and rivers, which holds down flooding.

That’s a big reason pervious concrete is increasingly used for parking lots, sidewalks, trails and roadways as a stormwater management tool in the United States, after years of use in many other countries.

In addition, while the material costs more than regular concrete, it can reduce the cost of stormwater control projects.

In some cases, the use of pervious concrete can eliminate the need for retention ponds, which have become much more popular in the Kansas City region in recent years.

Olathe cut the cost of a stormwater project at Oregon Trail Park by building a large portion of a parking lot with pervious concrete, averting the need to build normal storm sewers.

Another plus: Water that flows through pervious concrete becomes cleaner as it’s filtered through the ground and rocks below.
Experts point out that this region’s soils often contain clay, which doesn’t absorb water well. Still, city and parks officials ought to aggressively look for spots where they can use pervious concrete to its fullest advantage.

In southeast Kansas City, for instance, officials are working on a massive sewer improvement plan for the Marlborough neighborhood. The city has pledged to reduce stormwater runoff in the area. Using pervious concrete for sidewalks and possibly on some streets could reach that goal.

As the strength of pervious concrete improves, it should become a bigger part of this nation’s reliance on green solutions to clean up environmental problems.