GROUNDWATER AND SURFACE WATER QUALITY ASSESSMENT NEAR THE CLOSED MUNICIPAL LANDFILL

Izabela Talalaj

doi:10.5604/2081139x.1056572

Abstract

During the current research the level of groundwater (piezometers P2,P3,P4) and surface water (reservoir B) contamination during landfill operation and after its closure were examined. 113 samples of groundwater and surface water were collected from spring 2005 until spring 2012, i.e. three years after the landfill closure. The samples were analyzed for pH, EC, PAH, TOC and six heavy metals: Cr, Hg, Zn, Pb, Cd, Cu. The heavy metal concentration in groundwater and surface water both during landfill operations and after the landfill closure remained on a similar level and did not exceed permissible levels determined by WHO. Cr was an exception, because its concentration, during landfill exploitation, reached the value of 0.028 mg/l in surface water. In all examined after the landfill was closed a decrease in the EC value was observed. With the landfill closure the TOC concentration in groundwater increased from 1.8–3.4 to 2.07–3.6 mg/l and the PAH concentration from 0.01 to 0.02 mikrog/l. It may be attributed to a slowdown of decomposition in landfill. An additional PAH source for ground and surface water are surface run-offs form road pavements, yards and parking lots. The remaining high TOC level in a surface reservoir after the landfill closure is also a result of eurotrophisation, which enriches water with organic substances. Seasonal changes in the concentration of pollutants were observed, resulting both from their dilution by atmospheric precipitation (EC, pH, Cd, Cu) and due to washing them out from neighboring areas and enriching with them the analyzed water (Cu, PAH, Hg).

Highlights

Landfilling of municipal solid waste is one of the cheapest methods for organized waste management in many parts of the world [Longe and Balogun 2010, Jhamnani and Singh 2009]
One of the products which is produced by dumping sites is the leachate that migrates to adjacent areas, resulting in a gross pollution of soil, surface water and groundwater [Bocanegra et al 2000]
The average Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH) concentration in surface waters was 0.014 μg/l, i.e. it was at the level of the concentration observed in groundwater in P2 and P3 piezometers

Summary

INTRODUCTION

Landfilling of municipal solid waste is one of the cheapest methods for organized waste management in many parts of the world [Longe and Balogun 2010, Jhamnani and Singh 2009]. One of the products which is produced by dumping sites is the leachate that migrates to adjacent areas, resulting in a gross pollution of soil, surface water and groundwater [Bocanegra et al 2000]. The scale of this threat depends on the composition and quantity of the leachate and geological and hydro-geological circumstances of the area close to a landfill [Longe and Balogun 2010, Słomczyńska and Słomczyński 2004].

MATERIAL AND METHODS

METHODS

AND DISCUSSION

Findings

CONCLUSIONS