impervious surfaces
Water-blocking land covers
Impervious surfaces are ground coverings that don't absorb water—concrete, asphalt, rooftops, parking lots.
The term appears mainly in environmental and urban planning contexts, where such surfaces matter because rainwater runs off them rather than soaking into soil: The city's impervious surfaces increased flooding downstream.
Compare pervious or permeable surfaces, which allow water infiltration.
- parking lotsPaved areas for vehicles
- strip mallsConnected roadside retail buildings
- roadsPaved paths for vehicles
- rooftopsUpper surfaces of buildings
- concreteSolid building mixture
asphalt · flooding · water table · driveways · green roofs · sidewalks · watershed · erosion · urban sprawl · impermeable · paving stones · urban heat island · rainwater harvesting · plazas · highways · rain · waterproof · paved
- urban heatheat island, heat islands, heat absorption, hot spots, surface temperature
- stormwaterstormwater, surface runoff, urban runoff, storm drains, storm sewers
- drainagedrain, drains, drainage ditch, drain pipe, floor drains
impervious surfacesrain gardens
Planted basins absorbing runoff
infiltration basins · gravel · sand · French drains · mulch