Assessment and Simulation of a Solid Waste Dumpsite Impact on the Surrounding Water Resources: A Case Study in Abu Zaabal, Egypt

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Indiscriminate dumping of solid wastes and the resulting groundwater contamination is a major issue especially for developing countries. The main objective of this paper is to develop a groundwater mass transport model in order to study the effect of a solid waste open dumpsite on the water quality of the water resources within the region around it which highlights the harmful effects of indiscriminate solid wastes disposal by open dumping which is still followed in many developing countries around the world. Abu Zaabal dumpsite which is located in Qalyubiyah Governorate, Egypt receives huge amounts of wastes daily which is considered a source of pollution due to leachate generation that percolates deep into the soil reaching the shallow aquifer. The Groundwater Modeling System (GMS) software was used to model the groundwater flow and mass transport, using data collected from the site (site investigation) and literature historical data available. Of the several contaminants measured in the site, six were chosen to be modelled as they were the most critical. These contaminants are Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), Lead (Pb), Boron (B), Nitrate (NO - 3 ), Manganese (Mn) and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD). The model developed was used to simulate the aforementioned contaminants using a transient-state model and the concentration values for two different scenarios. Scenario-1 assumes that the dumpsite is still active till the year 2080 and Scenario-2 represents the closure of the dumpsite right now. The model results of each contaminant were calculated between 1980 and 2080 (i.e. 100 years) and in this study, 2080 results were presented. The results showed that the dumpsite had a major impact on the nearby water bodies, Abu Zaabal ponds and Belbais drain. Moreover, the closure of the dumpsite showed that the maximum concentration of the contaminants decreased by approximately 60-65% for the majority of them.