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| Submitter's Name |
Pamela Cady |
| Session Name |
Poster Session: Optimal Use of Integrated Water Supplies 2 |
| Category |
Optimal use of integrated water supplies |
| Poster Number |
404 |
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| Author(s) |
Pamela Cady, URI Dept of Geosciences |
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Thomas Boving, PhD,
URI Dept of Geosciences |
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BS Choudri, PhD, TERI - Western Regional Centre, Goa |
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A Riverbank Filtration Demonstration Project on the Banks of the Kali River in southwestern India |
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Riverbank Filtration (RBF) is a water pre-treatment system used for decades in the temperate climates of Europe and the Unites States, but is mostly untested in monsoon climates where we find much of today’s need for low cost, sustainable and safe water. By pumping a RBF well, river water is induced to flow through porous riverbed sediments. On the path towards the RBF well, dissolved and suspended contaminants, as well as pathogens, are removed or significantly reduced in number due to a combination of physical, chemical, and biological processes. A RBF demonstration system of four in-line wells was installed perpendicular to the Kali River in rural southwestern India. This 200 m3/second river receives polluted effluent from municipal discharge from a city of 53,000 and from one of India’s largest paper mills. Currently residents of small downstream communities have no reliable source of safe water and largely depend on the polluted river for their water needs. This study assesses the RBF’s capabilities in meeting the Indian drinking water standards, specifically in mitigating bacterial and metal contaminant loads. Additionally, silica and environmental isotopes are used to determine the percent contribution of surface water and groundwater to the RBF system, permitting calculation of percent change in pollutants in the river water, groundwater, and RBF water. Additionally, data from hydraulic and conservative tracer tests are used to determine travel times in the RBF system. |
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