Riverbank filtration

Worch E, Grischek T, Bomick H, Eppinger P (2002) Laboratory tests for simulating attenuation processes of aromatic amines in riverbank filtration. J Hydrol 266 259-268... 

Petrovic M, Lopez De Alda MJ, Dlaz-Cruz S, Postigo C, Radjenovic J, Gros M, Barcelo D (2009) Fate and removal of pharmaceuticals and illicit drugs in conventional and MBR wastewater treatment plants and by riverbank filtration. Philos Trans R Soc A 367 3979-4003... 

Kiihn and Muller (2000). Riverbank filtration—an overview. Journal of the American Water... 

Riverbank filtration as a treatment step during drinking water production is a commonly known and widely used technology in Europe [ 14-16]. 

Different observations were made at a riverbank filtration site at the river Main in Germany [16]. At this site, nitrate-, iron- and manganese-reducing conditions prevail and the residence time at two sampling points varies between 45-85 and 310-570 days, respectively. No elimination was observed after 60 m subsoil passage, which corresponds to a residence time of 45-85 days. MTBE was found to be as persistent as other poorly attenuable compounds in the Main water. 

Ongoing measurements at the above-mentioned riverbank filtration sites leads one to suspect that ETBE, which is increasingly found in the river water in detectable concentrations since 2005, is also not eliminated by riverbank filtration (Sacher E (2007) Personal communication and impublished data, DVGW-Technologiezentrum Wasser (TZW), Germany, www.tzw.de)... 

Subsoil passage is not efficient in removal of MTBE and other oxygenates, rendering riverbank filtration as treatment step in drinking water production ineffective. Therefore, natural attenuation cannot take care of the MTBE problem in respect to drinking water production. Eor remediation purposes where no drinking water resources are affected and the MTBE concentration is much higher, it may still be a viable option. 

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