Which surface prevents water infiltration, such as roads, roofs, and parking lots?

Which surface prevents water infiltration, such as roads, roofs, and parking lots?

• A. Impervious surface
• B. Permeable surface
• C. Runoff
• D. Infiltration

Answer: (A)

When water can’t soak into the ground, the surface is described as impervious. Materials like concrete, asphalt, and tightly sealed roofs create a barrier to infiltration, so rainfall on roads, rooftops, and parking lots largely becomes surface runoff instead of seeping into the soil. This lack of infiltration reduces groundwater recharge and can lead to quicker, higher-magnitude flows in streams, often carrying pollutants from urban surfaces into waterways. Permeable surfaces, by contrast, have openings or porous materials that allow water to pass through and infiltrate the soil, which reduces runoff. Runoff refers to the water that flows over the surface when infiltration can’t keep up, and infiltration is the process of water entering the soil. So the surface that prevents water infiltration is impervious.

When water can’t soak into the ground, the surface is described as impervious. Materials like concrete, asphalt, and tightly sealed roofs create a barrier to infiltration, so rainfall on roads, rooftops, and parking lots largely becomes surface runoff instead of seeping into the soil. This lack of infiltration reduces groundwater recharge and can lead to quicker, higher-magnitude flows in streams, often carrying pollutants from urban surfaces into waterways. Permeable surfaces, by contrast, have openings or porous materials that allow water to pass through and infiltrate the soil, which reduces runoff. Runoff refers to the water that flows over the surface when infiltration can’t keep up, and infiltration is the process of water entering the soil. So the surface that prevents water infiltration is impervious.