A research team at the University of New Hampshire recently finalized a two-year study of permeable pavement systems installed on campus. The stormwater control measures were "exceptional," according to the report, and the frigid temperatures reached during New Hampshire's winters did not affect the system's performance.

The University of New Hampshire's Stormwater Center (UNHSC) has released the final version of a report examining the functionality of permeable interlocking concrete pavement (PICP) in cold climates.

The UNHSC study, conducted in association with the Interlocking Concrete Pavement Institute (ICPI), converted a street and parking lot on UNH's Durham campus from asphalt to a PICP system in summer 2010.

The research team monitored water infiltration from October 2010 to April 2012, eventually analyzing 26 storms and 18 water-sampling events in total. The research was sponsored in part by donations from paver manufacturers like Nicolock, Oldcastle Architectural, Pavestone, Techo Bloc and Unilock.

Winter plowing and freeze-thaw did not notably affect the pavers, though additional joint stone had to be added to maintain the PICP system about halfway through the study.

UNHSC researchers found that "the [PICP] performance for volume reduction and pollutant load reduction was exceptional for an instillation on a sandy clay soil," as more than 95 percent of all contaminants measured, including sediment, metals, hydrocarbons and nutrients were removed from the system's runoff.

The complete text of the study is available through the UNHSC website.