Recent Leachate Problems And How To Cure Leachate Breakouts

There have recently been a number of articles on the web that help with solving many of the recent leachate problems which have been publicised.

The types of problems which landfill operators are experiencing have been exemplified in the following articles already this year:

1. Leachate Produced that must be Treated Before Disposal

The landfill site in Memelhakha in Thimphu has started producing leachate. Leachate ,the liquid produced by waste, is said to be poisonous as it contains toxic chemicals. Leachate can also contaminate the ground water and ... 

Credits: Memelhakha landfill starts producing toxic leachate | BBS

2. Leachate which Escapes a Watercourse Before It Can Be Collected and Treated for Safe Disposal

The following was reported on the Department of Environmental Quality's Riverbend Landfill website,  but don't bother looking online for information about the January leachate leak -- that information is no longer there.

Leachate release — On February 10, 2014, landfill personnel observed leachate escaping from the landfill’s northern boundary. Waste Management reported that this leachate reached a creek approximately 300 feet from the landfill.
This leachate was primarily liquid that had collected in the landfill’s gas extraction wells. To keep the extraction wells working properly, this leachate is routinely pumped from the wells to three 21,000-gallon storage tanks near the north side of the landfill. This leachate is kept separate from the majority of the landfill’s leachate, which is pumped to the onsite leachate pond.
This reason for this separation is that leachate associated with the gas extraction wells is more concentrated than the rest of the landfill leachate, and is therefore sent to a different offsite facility for treatment and disposal.
Tanker trucks that routinely haul this leachate to an offsite treatment plant were unable to get to the site because of heavy snow and icy roads.Flow of leachate from the landfill to the tanks was stopped because the tanks were full.
This is believed to be the reason leachate began seeping from the landfill. To prevent this problem in the future, Waste Management has connected these tanks to the pipeline leading to the onsite leachate storage pond.

 Credits: January Leachate Leak? - Stop The Dump Coalition - Blogger

3. Leachate Which Escapes Into the Ground and Creates a "Plume" of Pollution Below the Ground

The investigation was carried out to ascertain leachate plume generation and migration and its impact on the surrounding soil and the groundwater. 2D electrical resistivity imaging using Wenner array was used to delineate ... 

Credits: 2D Electrical Imaging Surveys for Leachate Plume Migration at an ...

Solutions And How To Cure Leachate Breakouts

The breakout of leachate both to the ground around and below a landfill can be prevented by good landfill lining design, and high quality construction of the liner with a high degree of construction quality control, preferably by an accredited independent organisation.

Find out more at http://leachate.eu