Experiences on the Fate of Organic Micropollutants During Riverbank Filtration

In Germany, riverbank filtration as a natural treatment process for the production of drinking water has been used for more than 100 years [1,2,3]. Nowadays, the major raw water resource for the drinking water supply in Germany is groundwater (about 64%), whereas bankfiltrated (or infiltrated) water has a portion of about 16% [3,4]. Compared to this, direct abstraction of river water is of minor importance (less than 1%). In many cases, mostly along larger rivers, a clear distinction between bankfiltrated water and groundwater is difficult, and the raw water used for drinking water production is bankfiltrated water blended with groundwater.