Attached growth membrane bioreactor (aMBR) process was investigated for treating polluted surface water with CODMn around 10 mg/L of raw water. Lab scale reactors, aMBR with 15% PVA-gel as carrier and conventional membrane filtration reactor (MF) were tested in parallel. aMBR achieved two times higher CODMn removal than MF system. Ammonia removal occurred almost completely in both MF and aMBR system - around 94% and 96%, respectively. Permeate turbidity was almost totally removed while UV254 removal was around 15% in MF and 20% in aMBR system. aMBR system largely mitigated membrane fouling and prolonged the system operation time. Results showed 2 h hydraulic retention time provided relatively higher removal efficiency and stable operation performance. Modified Stover Kincannon model was able to match the aMBR system. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.