Monitoring and Assessment of Groundwater Quality at Landfill Sites: Selected Case Studies of Poland and the Czech Republic

Abstract

In order to protect the components of natural environment, each landfill must be properly secured and the monitoring program should be adopted. This study aims to present a comparative analysis of groundwater quality at selected landfill sites in Poland and the Czech Republic, with a special attention given to the levels and temporal changes of heavy metals (HMs) concentrations measured in collected groundwater samples. A secondary objective was to detect possible leakages of pollutants from the landfill body, into the groundwater, and further into the environment. The assessment of groundwater quality was based on a comparison of HMs concentrations with standards provided by the European environmental laws. On the basis of the long-term monitoring period, it was revealed, for the Polish landfill site, that the groundwater quality is improving over time, especially due to remedial works applied. For the Czech landfill, it was observed that the quality of groundwater is not negatively affected by the operation of the landfill, but in the immediate vicinity of the landfill, the groundwater quality is significantly affected by the agricultural use of neighbouring lands, as well as by the storage of construction and demolition wastes. The results showed that the leachate did not leak outside the landfills, especially due to minimal concentrations of HMs, measured in groundwater samples, taken from the piezometers located in the outflow direction from the landfills.

Assessment of surface water quality near municipal Solid Waste dumping facility in Bukoba, Kagera Region, Tanzania

“…However, all temperature values were within the permissible limits for drinking water (20-50 • C). These results for pH and temperature are supported elsewhere by other researchers (Amano et al, 2021;Asibor et al, 2016;Podlasek et al, 2021).…”

“…The decomposition of solid wastes in landfills is boosted by physical, chemical, and biological processes, and by moisture from precipitation (Abiriga et al, 2020;Amano et al, 2021;Lindamulla et al, 2022). It is however, important to note that the existing waste materials in a particular landfill are in the form of solid, liquid (leachate), and gaseous states (Amano et al, 2021;Asibor et al, 2016;Hredoy et al, 2022;Lindamulla et al, 2022;Podlasek et al, 2021;Siddiqi et al, 2022).…”

Surface Monitoring of an MSW Landfill Based on Linear and Angular Measurements, TLS, and LIDAR UAV

“…The site is located near the northwestern border of Warsaw at the junction of the Bemowo district and the Stare Babice municipality ( Figure 1 ). The area of the landfill is about 17.3 hectares, and its height relative to ground level is about 60 m [ 31 ].…”

Distribution of heavy metals from tailings ponds and landfills into underground and surface waters

“…Heavy metals pose a significant risk to people's health and the environment, so hazardous situations must be avoided through the systematic construction of new landfills or the rehabilitation of existing ones. Podlasek et al [36] came to some interesting conclusions after inspecting two landfills, Radiowo in Poland and Zdounky in the Czech Republic, and they emphasize the importance of technical management of landfills, proper shutdowns, and monitoring. The goal of their investigations was to determine the level of contamination with heavy metals based on the presence of heavy metals in underground waters near landfills, from which they would determine the effects of landfill rehabilitation and legitimate technical management.…”