Internationally, the use of concrete drainage floors increases rapidly every year, with applications ranging from parking lots to industrial loading and unloading areas. Numerous tests on drainage systems have been carried out in the last 15 years in countries such as Germany, England, United States and Australia; the results were focused not only on the hydraulic characteristics, but also on the behavior with respect to the pollutants present in the meteoric outflows.
There is an extensive bibliography on the responsible use of this technology. In the case of “meteoric flow management”, aspects such as the calculation of the collected flow rates, the discharge flows and the integration of the drainage flooring system with the other traditional drainage systems must be evaluated.
In 2004 compared volumes washed from draining concrete floors against volumes washed away from asphalt pavements, finding that concentrations of solid, zinc, nitrogen and phosphorus sediments are significantly lower in volumes resulting from Stormwater Catch Basin.
Another similar laboratory study compared the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of the water and their drainage for concrete floors compared to those in asphalt demonstrating, even in this case, that the water infiltrated through the first tents to cause significant decreases in nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations, also totaling lower concentrations of metals, oils and bacteria.
The draining concrete floors with respect to their performance characteristics allow substantial decrease in surface waters. Optimal conditions for car and pedestrian accessibility thanks to the excellent draining capacity (equivalent to that of lawn-covered floors). A better quality of the water infiltrated in the pavement compared to that of the water washed away by asphalt or roofs.
Traditional management of stormwater catch basin
The continuous urban development has led over the years to a dramatic decrease in natural draining surfaces, with visibly negative effects especially for surface water flows.
Waterproof surfaces such as roofs and asphalt pavements increase the flow of water flowing into sewage systems, not only increasing the coefficients of influx but also increasing sediment and potentially polluting substances with devastating effects on the health of water and aquatic habitats.
As required by the overwhelming majority of Regional Plans for the protection and management of water, waste collection networks should be differentiated according to their origin. Unfortunately, most of our cities are still served by a single sewage collection network that collects all the meteoric outflows, with a series of unwanted consequences.
Flood waves more and more frequent with a consequent overload of the public sewers and sudden changes in flow rates in waterways. Malfunctioning of sewage treatment plants caused by water overload which makes them poorly performing.
