Assessment of Groundwater Contamination near Unlined Municipal Solid Waste Landfill Site

Landfills are considered one of the major threats to groundwater. The quality of the groundwater which is the major source of potable water is affected by the waste disposal sites. The disposal of municipal solid waste (MSW) into the landfills has been recognized as the major source of underground water contamination. The leachate produced by landfill site contains a large amount of contaminants which are likely to pollute groundwater. Groundwater is the major source of potable water supply and its contamination is a major environmental and health concern. In this study, the quality of groundwater around MSW landfill site was investigated. This study was therefore undertaken with the objective of assessing the possible impact of leachate percolation on groundwater quality in the vicinity of an unlined landfill site. The effect of distance of groundwater source from the landfill site and effect of seasonal variation in groundwater quality was also studied. It has been found that groundwater of the studied area contains high concentration of organic and inorganic constituents beyond permissible limits and with the passage of time values of various parameters increased, reason being with time the solid waste material degraded and the waste constituents percolated down along with rainwater. Thus, the groundwater of the studied area is unreliable for drinking water supply purposes. Therefore, we must improve our current waste management practices and construct properly engineered sanitary landfill sites to curtail the pollution of groundwater