Boral unique Hydrapave Stormwater Source Control system is an integrated, ecological and permeable paving solution to control excess water.

Water needed by trees for nourishment usually becomes runoff that requires an engineered and often costly solution to control, collect and treat. Usually this involves a stormwater control system channelling any stormwater runoff through a system of open drains and stormwater pipes to reduce flooding, surface ponding and erosion, followed by treatment for pollutants and eventual discharge.

The Hydrapave™ system allows water to infiltrate through 4mm deep vertical channels at each end of the 80mm thick concrete Hydrapave™ pavers and into a prepared 50mm bedding course, where pollutants are filter treated naturally. The water is then dispersed into the sub base through a series of graded gravel layers, penetrating to the trees' root systems through the pavement and via the specially prepared ‘structural soils' beneath, to a final layer comprising a 50/50 mix of topsoil and 50mm diameter multi-faceted basaltic rock – used as a growing medium for new trees. Any excess water is drained away through an agricultural drain into the stormwater system by means of an agricultural drainage system.

Used at the Yerrabi 2 Estate at Yerrabi Ponds, Gungahlin ACT, this unique paving system demonstrates its remarkable ability to control stormwater runoff and pollution. According to landscape architect, Alan Peggie from Red Box Design Group, using Boral Hydrapave on the driveways connecting the residences in this large residential development provided the unifying element that linked the many different aspects of the project. Specifying 3000m² of Boral Hydrapave permeable pavement system in Natural and Charcoal provided Alan Peggie with simple paving (“nothing too outrageous”) in a “continuous ribbon effect”.

Boral Hydrapave also satisfied the client's brief for a system in which the trees planted as part of the landscaping could be self sustaining and survive the harsh environmental conditions. The use of Boral Hydrapave pavers has the added benefit of reducing stormwater runoff and eliminating ponding, while at the same time allowing moisture to reach soil around the newly planted trees.

Paving contractor Zoran Milenkovic from Canberra United Landscapers said that while the 50mm bedding course required some additional preparation, the Hydrapave™ pavers were as fast and as easy to lay as conventional pavers. Other Boral Hydrapave™ System benefits include its low capital cost and maintenance, no need for detention ponds, and the on-site natural treatment of pollutants.

41.3 Pavers per m2, 400 pavers per pallet.