RBF_Cover (for eps) - National Water Research Institute

Session 1: Costs
The Costs and Benefits of Riverbank-Filtration Systems
Stephen A. Hubbs, P.E.
Louisville Water Company
Louisville, Kentucky
Henry C. Hunt, CPG
Collector Wells International, Inc.
Columbus, Ohio
Jürgen Schubert
Stadtwerke Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf, Germany
The Benefits of Riverbank Filtration
The history of RBF in modern times is connected to the experience of disease outbreaks in Europe
in the 1890s, with specific reference to the cholera epidemic in Hamburg, Germany, in 1892. The
preference for groundwater, RBF, and artificial recharge to surface water stems from this
experience, noting much more wholesome water from these sources than from surface water.
A much earlier reference to RBF (albeit far less scientific) is found in the Bible:
The fish that were in the Nile died, and the Nile became foul, so that the Egyptians
could not drink water from the Nile … So all the Egyptians dug around the Nile for
water to drink, for they could not drink of the water of the Nile. (Exodus 7, 21-24)
Thus, it appears that the benefits of RBF are anything but new!
The benefits of RBF have been cataloged in recent publications to include:
• Particle removal.
• Pathogen removal.
• Organic and inorganic chemical removal.
• Peak smoothing in spills.
• Reduction in DBP formation.
• Production of a more biologically stable water.
When faced with the decision to choose an advanced treatment technology for its two treatment
plants, the Louisville Water Company in Louisville, Kentucky, sought to compare these benefits
against the benefits of in-plant treatment techniques from both a treatment efficiency perspective
and cost-based perspective; however, a comprehensive, quantitative measure was difficult to develop.
Correspondence should be addressed to:
Stephen A. Hubbs, P.E.
Vice President, New Technology
Louisville Water Company
550 South Third Street • Louisville, Kentucky 40202 USA
Phone: (502) 569-3675 • Fax: (502) 569-0813 • Email: SHubbs@lwcky.com
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