Hardscape

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Hardscape, in the practice of landscaping, refers to the paved areas like streets & sidewalks, large business complexes & housing developments, and other industrial areas where the upper-soil-profile is no longer exposed to the actual surface of the Earth. The term is especially used in heavily urbanized/suburbanized areas with little bare soil.

Without nearby bare soil, hardscape requires artificial methods of drainage/runoff in order to carry off the sometimes massive volumes of water that would normally be mostly absorbed into the ground as groundwater. Lack of capacity can cause major problems after severe thunderstorms, hurricanes, typhoons, etc.

The water table in and around large areas of hardscape is usually very depleted because not enough rainwater is being absorbed into the soil of that area in order to help recharge the water table in that (usually urban) area. Such areas must then rely largely on "imported" freshwater from local or non-local lakes, reservoirs, dams, rivers, and streams. On the other hand, most homes in rural areas often use wells and springs as their primary source of freshwater because the local water table is being constantly recharged by the hydrologic cycle.