Question

Repeat the demonstration on a paved surface such as a driveway or sidewalk and document the differences. With no soil to absorb this water, what would happen in a heavy rainstorm? How would an engineer in charge of a city's flood control system prepare for the runoff generated on paved parking lots and roads in a heavy rainstorm?

Answer 1

Answer:The rate of absorption into the soil was very slow, which meant that some of the water flowed over it and was either absorbed in a different area, or ran onto the driveway and down into the street. It was a warm sunny day, so after a while the wet patch of water on the sidewalk had dried up (evaporation). Once the soil got wet from absorbing the water, the rate of absorption got even slower – like the soil was “full” – and more water ran over onto the driveway. The water on the driveway moved very quickly, since the concrete didn’t absorb it. Our street has never flooded before, but I have seen heavy rainstorms where the water was moving down the street like a big stream, carrying fallen leaves and trash down into the storm drains.

Answer 2

Answer:

Explanation:

Without soil to absorb the excess water, a heavy rainstorm will cause massive flooding. The water will accumulate over the pavement and keep rising until it finds soil or a runoff since water always levels itself out. To prevent situations such as this one an engineer should implement drainage tunnels between the road and the sidewalks. This would allow the water to be drained and flow to the nearby body of water. This would easily prevent flooding during a heavy rainstorm.