AN ANALYSIS OF PERMEABLE BLOCK PAVING FOR STORMWATER MANAGEMENT & WATER CONSERVATION IN SINGAPORE

Abstract

Singapore faces a water paradox: periods of intense rains that cause flash flooding in many areas of Singapore, many times a year, and a need to conserve water because she lacks a natural source. This paradox is exacerbated by climate change and an increasing population. To solve the paradox, Singapore has adopted many stormwater management, water conservation, and water treatment solutions. The sufficiency of these solutions have been debated. The latest solution amalgamates stormwater management, water conservation and water purification: the Active, Beautiful & Clean (ABC) Waters Concept. It is similar in philosophy to the Sustainable Urban Drainage System (SUDS) and Low Impact Development (LID), which are surface drainage systems adopted in Europe and the U.S. respectively. The differences lie in the drainage solutions – the ABC Waters Concept does not use hard-landscape surface drainage solutions. On its own, soft-landscape surface drainage solutions have shown efficacy and sufficiency in many sites around the world. In Singapore, its theoretical limitations, hindered by Singapore’s environment and climate, might reduce its efficacy and sufficiency. To address these limitations, this study will recommend a hard-landscape surface drainage solution – permeable pavement systems. Specifically, permeable block paving. Permeable pavement systems is a relatively new concept to Singapore. Local studies have been done on the feasibility of adopting porous asphalt pavements. However, the efficacy of porous asphalt pavements as a drainage solution has been contended for nearly three decades. This study theoretically evaluates the ABC Waters Concept, and the feasibility of relying on soft-landscape drainage solutions alone in Singapore. It then proposes the adoption of permeable block paving, a hard-landscape drainage solution, as an enhancement, to be amalgamated with the ABC Waters Concept. This study seeks to support the existing infrastructure in Singapore, and not overhaul it.