Evaluation of Riverbank Filtration Efficiency with Radial Collector Well Systems near the Nakdong River, Korea

Evaluation of the efficiency of riverbank filtration (RBF) with radial collector well system near the Nakdong River, Korea is performed. We investigated the groundwater flow response to pumping at a radial collector well located in a RBF facility and measured the drawdowns and well yield. The distribution of water flux extracted from each horizontal arm and the removal efficiency of contaminants in the river water through the RBF are calculated through the numerical simulations. Sensitivity analyses about hydraulic conductivity, well flow coefficient, and retardation coefficients are performed to assess the effect of variations in the hydraulic conditions of the wells in the RBF facility on groundwater drawdowns and RBF. Simulation results indicate that the drawdowns and amount of recharged surface water change with the hydraulic conductivity and the well flow coefficient. The retardation coefficient and decay coefficient, which determine the amount of the contaminant filtrated during the RBF, play critical role in the efficiency of RBF. The simulation results confirm that the proposed method can be practically used for estimating the efficiency of the radial collector well for RBF.