Induced Bank Filtration: Hydraulic Testing of Pilot Filters

Abstract

Hydraulic tests were performed on two pilot scale filters as part of a water treatment project in the village of Nersa, Karnataka, India. The filters use locally sourced alluvial material to filter E.coli contamination using natural processes that mimic those in Riverbank Filtration (RBF). Two pilot scale filters were tested, one containing locally sourced granular activated carbon (GAC) and one without. A falling head test and tracer test were preformed, and breakthrough curves were used to analyze the hydraulic performance. E.coli data were also collected, and percent removal was calculated to determine the effectiveness of the filters. Relative to the influent water, the E.coli removal percentage of Filter 1 (no GAC) was consistently high and ranged between 97.1% and 100% E.coli. The addition of GAC did not improve performance in this study. Overall, the effectiveness in bacteria removal observed in the non GAC filter warranted construction of a full-scale system.