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Executive SummaryProblem Statement - Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government (LFUCG) must reduce stormwater and sewer system overflow, increase stormwater capacity and overall, improve its stormwater infrastructure in order to comply with a consent decree between LFUCG and the EPA. Per decree, a stormwater fee must also be established. This paper examines the cost effectiveness of repaving public urban roads and private paved surfaces with porous asphalt. Porous asphalt allows the water to sink through the asphalt and reduces stormwater runoff.
Research Strategy - Through interviews with knowledgeable individuals, public stormwater task force meetings and research, we will examine the feasibility of widespread use of porous asphalt as a viable alternative to storm water tax soon to be imposed on businesses in Lexington, as required by the consent decree. Porous pavement would allow businesses to decrease the stormwater tax based on the area of impervious surface (driveways, parking, sidewalks, streets).
Findings – Repaving of even 1/3 of public roads in urbanized areas in Lexington is impractical and prohibitively expensive, as well as inefficient. Incentives for businesses to avoid the stormwater fee tax through tax credits are problematic. With a 100% credit, the return on investment is more than 100 years for existing pavements and 70 years for new development. The table below shows cost per quantity unit for total volume of stormwater, dissolved solids and total phosphorous between current situation of no porous asphalt and hypothetical situation of repaving 1/3 of urban roads with porous asphalt. Following, the comparison is made for private impervious surfaces changed to porous asphalt surfaces. Lastly, the table shows return on investment for new and existing porous asphalt in relation to $4.16 tax per 1ERU (2,585 sq feet).
Recommendations - Per dollars spent for total stormwater runoff volumes, dissolved solids and phosphorous in stormwater it is the recommendation of the author that porous asphalt should be strongly considered, encouraged and subsidized for new construction. Existing development may rely on conventional approaches to stormwater management such as improving open channels, and increasing capacity of and building new detention basins. Existing development may also investigate other ‘green infrastructures’ (ex. green roofs, green parking) to decrease stormwater tax. This recommendation is influenced by the desire to decrease stormwater runoff, which leads to better water quality, not purely a cost-efficiency aspect.
