NEMO Photo Gallery
Parking Lot Design
Photo by S. Donaldson |
Pavement is a necessary fact of life in our society, but there are ways to modify the paving to increase infiltration and decrease storm runoff. |
Photo by S. Donaldson |
Typical parking lot landscape islands have curbing that blocks storm water infiltration. |
Photo by S. Donaldson |
Unless, of course, they crumble and break! This type of island is both unattractive and non-functional. |
Photo by S. Donaldson |
Here we see a vegetated parking lot island in desperate need of irrigation, and a storm water puddle evaporating on the nearby pavement. The puddle could serve as a source of irrigation for the island vegetation. |
Photo by C. Conway |
Cuts in the curbing can significantly increase storm water infiltration and decrease runoff into the storm drains. The inflow area should be protected from erosion with rocks or landscape fabric. |
Photo by C. Conway |
As the storm water enters this parking lot feature, it is filtered of sediment and debris. Some nutrients and toxic chemicals are processed by the soil and plants. The water that leaves this bioretention feature will be cleaner than the storm water entering the area. |
![]() Photo by Center for Watershed Protection |
These curb cuts funnel runoff to a grassy swale that channels the water to a constructed, gravel-covered infiltration basin. |
![]() Photo by C. Conway |
These curb cuts channel water to vegetation. |
![]() Photo by CWP |
Car stops with perforations allow runoff to flow into depressed islands. |