How pervious concrete could help prevent flooding concerns

A new way to fix flooding is underway in Titusville. New developments are now working with the environment instead of against it. And the goal here is to keep water from pouring onto streets and into homes. Fox 35's Esther Bauer is joining us live right now in Titusville. So Esther, we are seeing this being used in parking lots and sidewalks even. Luann, we are. And one of those sidewalks is right here at Scobie Park. So this specific sidewalk I'm standing on, it's just a normal sidewalk paved over. It's not really meant to move water anywhere. It just kind of sends it into the street. But right over here, this is a special sidewalk. You can see it looks a little bit different. There's some pebbles. It's a little bit more rough. This is actually made to move water back into the soil to try and prevent flooding. It's holding the water from channeling down the road. This parking lot on Pinedo and US 1 wasn't just made to hold cars. It doubles as a holding tank for stormwater when it rains. This property doesn't contribute to the peak flow rate from all the stormwater and then causing flooding at any other nearby area. The property is what the city calls low-impact development. It helps reduce flooding by channeling water underground and eventually to plants all around the property. Developers who build like this can get incentives from the city if they use their business to help fight flooding. Last year, about 40% of the developments in town built projects like this and the city's sustainability coordinator wants to see that number grow. We're working on strategies to improve that. The town is trying to fix flooding issues after massive storms last October and pavement is just one piece of the puzzle. The pervious pavement isn't a full solution for flooding problems here in the city but it is a step in the right direction. By building smarter and working with the environment, the town is trying to move water where it belongs so it doesn't end up sitting on streets or in neighborhoods. The more developments that actually implement this kind of thing, we'll see improvements throughout the city. And right now, the city tells us they have about six projects being built right now with this flooding focus in mind. Going forward, they'd really like to see this start in some of the older neighborhoods where flooding is a big, big problem. Reporting live in Titusville, Esther Bauer, Fox 35 News.