Worldwide potential of riverbank filtration

Excerpt

As the demand for piped drinking water is increasing in developing economies, water utilities are facing the challenge of treating surface water that is often polluted. Furthermore, many cities in developing countries are examining the feasibility of providing a continuous pressurized supply on a 24 h basis to reduce cross contamination. This practice is adding further stresses to treatment capacities in many cities. Riverbank filtration (RBF) is considered to be an excellent treatment (or pre-treatment) technology for drinking water production. When wells are placed sufficiently close to a river and pumped, a part of the pumpage is induced infiltration water from the river. In the case of a lake, the process is called lake-bank filtration. As the induced surface water filters through the riverbed sediments and aquifer materials, most suspended and dissolved contaminants, including pathogenic bacteria and viruses are filtered out. …