Fracture and Gully Formation in Glacial Fill: Field Observations at the WillowCreek Landfill, Portage County, Ohio, with Implications to Historic Earthen Dam Failure Sites in the US

Author Institution: Bennett & Williams Environmental Consultants Inc., Columbus, OHAuthor Institution: The Ohio State University, School of Environment and Natural Resources, Columbus, OHFracture formation in fill was observed to occur rapidly, in just a few years at the WillowCreek Landfill site. The soil science and geomorphology literature does not discuss the formation of fractures in glacial fill. Observations (which are often the first step in developing a research effort) of fractures formed in fill derived from fine-grained Ohio glacial soils and tills by Weatherington-Rice at the WillowCreek site and in earthen dams by Sherard are here presented. Questions regarding the applications of these observations to potential impacts and failures of the built environment, that is, landfill construction and leachate generation (HELP model), earthen dams, highway construction, and general construction sites, are raised. Recommendations are made for the need for inter-disciplinary research and literature sharing