River Bank Filtration System: Cost Effective Water Supply Alternative

Prominent indicators of a major looming water crisis are low ground water tables, dry wells and depletion of drinking water resources at exponential rates; therefore, there is an urgent need for the development and adoption of alternative innovations that could reduce the huge burden of scarce water resources. Riverbank filtration (RBF) system is one such cost effective sustainable approach. The RBF technology has been in widespread use in USA and many European countries. In the past few years this has been applied effectively in India. This paper presents the effectiveness and application of RBF on the banks of rivers in India and other countries adopting the technique for consumption of naturally filtered water. It will also highlight the important parameters to consider and methodology, while selecting and installing the RBF technology onsite.