Abstract
Enormous quantities of sludge are produced in water purification plants during process of purifying surface water. These sludges are either disposed of directly in water bodies or require further treatment methods in order to be reused. Riverbank filtration (RBF) is a water extraction method utilizing production wells that draw water from a distance from a surface water source, allowing the water to travel through riverbed soil, which serves as a natural medium for purification. Implementation of Riverbank Filtration as a natural water purification process eliminates Water Treatment Sludge (WTS) quantities and enhances its quality to be reused and safely disposed of into water bodies. This study aims to analysis impacts of mixing Riverbank filtration water and Nile water as a supplemental water source in the Nedda surface water treatment on sludge amounts produced and its characterizations. The Plant involves four Riverbank wells which pumped raw water as inlet water integrated with raw Nile’s water. Results show that water treatment sludge quantity has been eliminated from 10% to 15%, and the enhancement of the removal ratio in some parameters such as COD, was enhanced from 4.7 mg/l to 3.1 mg/l and Manganese eliminated from 0.15 mg/l to 0.094 mg/l. The potential benefits of this innovative approach include improving removal of pollutants, increasing efficiency of water filtration, and reducing costs associated with water treatment and sludge disposal. Moreover, it presents an environmentally sustainable solution to the challenge of sludge management by repurposing it as a resource in water purification.