Before investing in traditional asphalt surfaces for the driveway in your garden, think about the floodwater that will gather on its surface during the rainy season. Impermeable asphalt surfaces are bound to flood your garden because the water cannot seep through to the ground. Instead of the traditional drainage methods used drains to direct water into streets and rivers, using permeable asphalt alternatives are a good alternative for getting rid of floodwater. If you want to set up an asphalt driveway in your garden, here are some permeable paving alternatives you should consider to help you deal with floodwater:
Loose Gravel
Loose gravel is an effective way of ensuring that rainwater falling on the ground is channelled directly into the soil. Here, different shapes and sizes of gravel are laid on the driveway and enclosed by block paving to confine them in the specific area where they have been laid. The blocking paving keeps them from being washed away by rainwater. However, you should be ready to replace the loose gravel with time, as they reduce in size and number due to weathering. This can easily expose the ground and lead to a muddy garden when it rains. Notably, the loose gravel alternative is ideal for gardens with sandy soils that let water seep through them quite fast.
Soakaways and Rain Gardens
If you want to use a conventional asphalt paved surface, then soakaways and rain gardens will come in handy in helping you deal with floodwater. In this alternative, the conventional asphalt driveway is constructed in a way that it can direct floodwater to a certain point in the garden. This area is then made into a depression to collect the floodwater and allow the water to seep into the ground slowly. The depression can be located on the edge of the driveway or between two driveways such that water flows into it from both driveways. You should consider having some succulent vegetation like eucalyptus trees in the depression. They will absorb some water from the depression and help regulate runoff.
Floodwater Harvesting
In some cases, having a permeable asphalt surface isn't enough to deal with floodwater. This can result from by loam and clay soils, which do not let water seep through them fast enough after it has been let through by the asphalt surface. In such a case, underground water tanks and water butts can be used to collect and store the floodwater. You can use such water for watering plants or general cleaning, contributing to water efficiency.
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