Guideline on Riverbank Filtration in Egypt

Water scarcity is a pressing national priority in Egypt and is expected to worsen due to climate change, continuous rapid population growth and disrupted Nile flow. One way to overcome the challenges of water scarcity is to adopt alternative innovative technologies that can be applied and scaled up in the Egyptian context. Hence, River-Bank Filtration (RBF) was promoted as an alternative low cost, environmentally friendly and effective water provision solution that uses riverbank soil as a natural filter.

Having implemented more than 30 units in Egypt, UN-Habitat supported the drafting of the “Guideline on Riverbank Filtration in Egypt” to support effective and accurate institutionalization of the technology in the Egyptian codes and practices.

The guideline complements the National Feasibility Report for Riverbank Filtration technology in Egypt, as it identifies guiding principles for site selection, design and construction parameters, operational and water quality monitoring, and maintenance requirements for RBF in Egypt. This guideline can strongly support including RBF in the national codes of practices for water provision in Egypt, and ensure quality control and adequacy of scaled up implementation.