Case Study 20: Sustainable and year-round drinking water production by riverbank filtration in Haridwar, India

Abstract

The riverbank filtration (RBF) scheme in Haridwar by the Ganga River and Upper Ganga Canal (UGC), consisting of 22 caisson wells, is operating sustainably for > 50 years [1,2] (Figure 1; Box 1). A consistent removal of ≥ 4 log10 (≥ 99.99 %) of pathogens (Total Coliforms and E. coli) has been observed since monitoring commenced in 2005 [1–6]. RBF removes turbidity by ≥ 2.5 log10 during monsoon, when the Ganga has a turbidity in the range of 100–744 NTU [2–6]. The RBF scheme effectively meets peak water demand during religious gatherings when > 1 million bathe in the Ganga and UGC.