In 2010, Lake Havasu City employees noticed the parking lot would pool in the same spots every time it rained. The pooling created a hazard. The large pool of water made it unsafe to drive through, and over time the pavement wear began to create potholes.

Figure 1: Map of City Hall Parking Lot

Figure 2: Water damage in parking lot

The solution was Green Infrastructure. This type of network changes the infrastructure to work with nature instead of against it. Instead of continually fixing the damage, the city decided to replace the impermeable asphalt with permeable concrete. Permeable concrete will allow the water to flow through the medium and drain to the soil beneath. Not only will this permeable concrete prevent storm water build up, but the natural filtering system beneath the concrete produces higher water quality of runoff returning to the Colorado River watershed.

Figure 3: First step in placing permeable pavement, digging to the soil where the water can be absorbed.

Figure 4: The layer of gravel will act as a filter for the storm water.

Figure 5: Porous concrete is then poured on top of the gravel.

Figure 6: Finished project

With the north side of the parking lot now taken care of, the city needed a plan for the southwest side storm water pooling issues. With the south side corner being so close to the Broadwater wash, it was decided the water would be funneled out through a drain and pipe.

Figure 7: The southwest side parking lot drain.

Figure 8: Broadwater drain pipe.

If you are interested in projects similar to this one, please email eidmannm@lhcaz.gov for future volunteer opportunities.