Impact of decreasing water demand on bank filtration in Saxony, Germany

Bank filtration has been of great importance to the drinking water supply in Germany for many decades. The water quality of pumped raw water from bank filtration sites depends to a high degree on the water quality of the infiltrating surface water and the landside groundwater, the mixed portion of both, as well as the flow and transport conditions in the aquifer. Following the improvement of river water quality and a drastic decrease in water demand during the last 20 years in Germany, the influence of landside groundwater quality has become more important for the raw water quality of waterworks relying on bank filtration. The hydrogeologic analysis of three bank filtration sites in Saxony and the management of abstraction rates and well operation in response to fluctuating water demand are discussed.