| Use of riverbank filtration (RBF) recently has become more prevalent in the United States as more and more utilities seek to improve the quality of source waters used for water supply in response to the implementation of more stringent treatment regulations. Current methods of yield prediction for riverbank filtration systems fail to account fully for influences of site geometry, river hydraulics, and source water quality on long-term yield. As a result, systems often fail to produce in the long term at the rate predicted from pump tests and investigations. Yield in RBF systems is affected by a variety of factors related to the geology, hydraulics, site layout, and operational characteristics of each site. This paper identifies key parameters that affect yield in riverbank filtration systems and presents data for these parameters from RBF sites in the United States and in Europe.; Data was collected from eleven riverbank filtration sites in the United States and Europe through Internet searches, literature searches, site visits, and email and phone correspondence. A simple analysis compared aquifer, river hydrology/hydraulics, site geometry, riverbed, and water quality data to operational data in an attempt to identify key factors that are significant to yield. The study was successful in demonstrating the important impact of temperature on specific capacity and identifying several other factors that showed some correlation with specific capacity. However, the impact of the majority of the factors was difficult to distinguish because of interdependencies, missing data, and the limited number of site investigated.; The data included in the study provide a range of aquifer, river, riverbed, and water quality conditions in which riverbank filtration has been successfully implemented. The data generated provide means to facilitate the transfer of experience among interested parties. |
