If you live in the country, this might not be that big of a problem for you. But if you live in any area of the country that has been very developed, then you might be aware of what happens when too much ground has been paved over. This can result in flooding.

In order to avoid flooding, water has to have a place to go after substantial rainfall. In the country, rain water can usually flow into a stream, river, or be absorbed into the ground. In this way, flooding can be avoided.

But suburbs and cities can be at risk. In these places, it is very often true that there has been too much pavement and groundcover. Historically, this took place when very few people were thinking of the consequences as it relates to potential flooding. If you look at these parts of the country, it's not uncommon to find sizable flooding problems following substantial rain events.

One solution to this problem concerns the use of pervious pavement. Pervious pavement is unique in that it allows water to flow through it. At the same time, it maintains structural integrity so it can be used in the same manner as traditional pavement.

This is something that people should give serious consideration to when developing new houses and roadways -- -- especially in areas prone to flooding.

Pervious pavement has virtually unlimited applications. Basically, any place we use traditional pavement is a place that pervious pavement can be considered by your engineer or architect. This includes driveways and environmental detention basins.

For example, one popular pavement system consists of traditional interlocking pavers with the drainage holes situated in between each pavement block. This kind of pervious product has all of the structural integrity of traditional paving material but also contains the ability to encourage drainage.

The drainage feature may satisfy state and local environmental requirements and may also reduce development costs by eliminating some of the mechanical run off requirements that might otherwise be neededif this system wasn't installed. In other words, pervious pavers may save developers money .

Another competing system consists of concrete donuts that are empty in the middle. The idea behind this system is that the concrete donuts provide structural integrity so that the paved area can be used for parking, overflow parking, a parking median, or other kinds of similar applications.

At the same time, grass grows through the holes in between the concrete donuts, thereby providing 40% pervious coverage. When done properly, the area can look almost like a lawn and can be quite attractive, while also providing an important, storm water runoff function.

There are many other technologies that are available. Each claim to be the best --some actually might be. I don't know the answer to that. I just know that these products have been in the field for several years and true field experience is now available.

If you are going to be constructing a new house or business, or remodeling, talk to your architect and engineer about the pervious pavement possibilities. They allow you an opportunity to protect the environment and potentially save money as well.

The information provided in this column is written by Stuart Lieberman,a practicing environmental attorney, and is for general information purposes only. It is not legal advice and should not be used in place of legal advice.

Stuart Lieberman, Esq., and IRED.Com, Inc., will not accept any responsibilty for any reliance on the information in this column or any damages whatsoever resulting from reading this column.