In the spring of 2016, the Painesville Township Fire Station #3 parking lot was renovated and expanded using 1,482 square feet of permeable pavement, a technology that will help to clean and reduce stormwater runoff to Red Creek, the Grand River, and Lake Erie.  The permeable pavement helps the parking lot behave more like a natural landscape.  This keeps rainwater out of storm sewers, prevents sewer backups and flooding, and reduces pollution that would otherwise flow to unprotected waterways.

Rain and snowmelt pass through the spaces in between and into layers of underlying stone. The water slows down as it flows through the stone layers and pollutants are removed.  Some water soaks into the ground beneath the stone, and some are slowly released to a perforated pipe that carries it to a storm sewer that drains to Red Creek.  In summer, heated water entering streams directly from conventional pavement can harm aquatic life and habitat.  Reducing this thermal loading improves stream health.  In winter, drainage of snowmelt through the pavers could reduce the amount of salt needed, also leading to improved water quality.

Chagrin River Watershed Partners, Inc. and Lake County Stormwater Management Department assisted the Township with this project.