Decking allows rainwater to soak into the ground beneath it, and the space between the planks provides ample room for precipitation to drain directly onto the soil surface. As long as minimal air space is maintained between the soil surface and the decking, wood rot can be minimized. If you are installing a new patio or rebuilding a crumbling sidewalk, you don't need to use the typical slab concrete. If placed on well-drained soil or on a sand or gravel bed, these modular pavers allow rainwater infiltration. Pre-cast concrete lattice pavers also rest on a bed of sand and gravel and allow rain to soak slowly into the ground.
Dutch drains carry water from rain spouts into the soil, where it gradually filters into the ground.
These kinds of paving materials can be used wherever natural soil drainage is good and there are no problems with either bedrock near the surface or seasonal high water table. Significant strides have been made in the last few decades in developing porous asphalt pavement. This material is similar to conventional asphalt in durability, but it contains a much smaller percentage of very fine particles. As a result, the asphalt allows water to soak through into the soil below. Trees have long been appreciated for their beauty, but their help in minimalizing erosion is not as well known.