2013-05-16 19:57:29.576774+00 by Dan Lyke 3 comments
The Atlantic Cities - The Way We Build Cities Is Making Them Flood.
And, yes, on our list is tearing out the concrete patio in the back and replacing it with flagstone so that we have a more water permeable surface treatment in that space. Also something to think about as cities pursue higher densities...
[ related topics: Space & Astronomy ]
comments in ascending chronological order (reverse):
#Comment Re: made: 2013-05-17 11:02:30.006895+00 by: DaveP
Minneapolis will actually charge you a higher property tax rate if you have more than a certain percentage of your lot with impermeable surfaces. When I built a patio eight years ago, I asked about using permeable pavers for it, but the price differential was so high that I got a poured concrete patio instead. Sad that less concrete (because of the holes) would cost so much more.
#Comment Re: made: 2013-05-17 16:16:39.184257+00 by: Dan Lyke
Yeah, building a good permeable surface is hard, which is why we don't do it. I wonder if it really is cheaper to capture and treat that run-off, or if the city is under-taxing non-permeable surfaces and solid concrete patios have a big externality?
#Comment Re: made: 2013-05-18 11:20:41.633351+00 by: DaveP
I'm pretty sure the higher tax is due to more run-off. We have separate sanitary and storm sewers, but if there's more rain than the storm sewers can handle, the overflow ends up in the sanitary system, rather than just going to the river like the storm sewers do. They've been separating the sewer systems for most of my adult life, and that can't be cheap. It's a lot better than having overflows dump raw sewage into the river, and that's what used to happen.
The price differential at construction time was due to the added labor to build the permeable patio. Poured concrete is a lot less work than laying pavers.