Riverbank Filtration – A Potential Water Source Exploitation for the Red River Delta Region

Abstract

Riverbank filtration technology has been widely applied worldwide because of its high-capacity collection and good water quality throughout natural purification processes. Infiltration water can be extracted from Holocene (qh) layer or the Pleistocene deep layer (qp), replenished with water from the river through hydrogeological windows. Hydrodynamic and isotopic signatures were employed to determine water seepage capacity. The results show that infiltrated water is found in the sand layers along the rivers. However, the seepage rate shows a heterogeneously spatial variation ranging from 30 m3/d in the Dinh Dao river to 33,600 m3/d. Km along the shoreline in the Red River (RRD). Also, the exploitation capacity of seepage water differs widely in order of large (> 3,000 m3/d), medium (1,000 - 3,000 m3/d), small (500 - 1,000 m3/d), and very small capacity (200 - 500 m3/d). This study indicated that RRD could apply riverbank filtration techniques to overcome freshwater scarcity in the delta due to increasing surface pollution and discharge reduction.