Bank filtration: a sustainable water treatment technology for developing countries

As good quality water sources become more scare, water quality standards become more stringent and the cost of water treatment is increasing, there is need for a sustainable and robust water treatment technology. Bank filtration has been used for surface water treatment in Europe and USA for many years. However, this technology has not been utilised fully in developing countries. Bank filtration is a natural process of water treatment which is simple, avoids the use of chemicals and when properly designed and operated produces water of acceptable quality and reduces the cost of water treatment. It utilises the physical, chemical and biological removal processes in the soil and aquifer for purification of surface water during its passage to production wells. Based on the results of two feasibility studies conducted in Malawi and Kenya, this paper elaborates on the potentials and constraints of promoting bank filtration technology for water treatment in developing countries.