Full Description

Riverbank filtration (RBF) has been used for public and industrial water supply in Europe for over a century and for nearly half a century in the United States. The process has been shown to be effective in moderating the peak concentrations of various contaminants present in river or lake water (for lake bank filtration) and in many cases involving removal ofcontaminants to below detection levels. The performance of riverbank filtration systems depends upon well type and pumping rates, travel time of surface water between the river and the pumping wells, source water quality, site hydrogeologic conditions, biogeochemical reactions in sediments and aquifer, and the quality of background groundwater. Studies from Europe and the United States indicate significant removal of dissolved organic carbon, nitrate, pesticides, pathogens, turbidity, and pharmaceutical and personal care products. The degree of removal in one system varies from the other. Computer simulations indicate that placing the (vertical) wells somewhat away from the river could reduce the effect of nitrate or pesticide peaks in surface water. In Europe, this has been observed to enhance denitrification, thus reducing the levels of nitrate present in surface water. The objective of this paper is to the discuss parameters that affect the quantity and quality of filtrate production from RBF wells. A related objective is to consider the engineered and non-engineered parameters that can be optimized to enhance the efficiency of RBF systems throughout the year. Includes 19 references, table, figures.

Product Details

Edition: Vol. - No. Published: 06/01/2001 Number of Pages: 13File Size: 1 file , 370 KB