A Riverbank Filtration Demonstration Project on the Banks of the Kali River in southwestern India (Poster)

Robert L. Carothers Library and Learning Commons

One solution to India’s pressing safe drinking water needs is riverbank filtration (RBF). To evaluate the performance of RBF under the hydrogeological and climatological conditions of southern India, a small scale RBF system was installed in a village near the Kali River in the state of Karnataka. A series of hydraulic and tracer tests were carried out along with periodic geochemical monitoring of various water sources in the study area. Silica tracer data used to determine the relative contribution of surface and groundwater to the RBF system indicate that this RBF system derives approximately 27.6% of its water from the river. Despite this low percentage of surface water in the RBF system, the data indicate that the attenuation of pollutants in the RBF system is mostly the result of natural removal processes. Groundwater dilution does not appear to play a major role in pollutant reduction. Additionally, environmental isotopes highlight the impact of nearby rice paddies on the RBF production well. Bacteria levels demonstrate at least 95.1% to 99.8% removal over currently used source waters. However, the water quality does not meet Indian standards for total coliform and does not consistently meet Indian drinking water standards for E. coli. Average dissolved metal levels meet Indian standards for all metals analyzed. In summary, this pilot-scale project demonstrates an RBF system that is welcomed by the host community and provides water of higher quality than other sources in this setting.