Case Study of a Full-Scale Evapotranspiration Cover
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 135, Issue 3
Abstract
The design, construction, and performance analyses of a evapotranspiration (ET) landfill cover at the semiarid U.S. Army Fort Carson site, near Colorado Springs, Colo. are presented. Initial water-balance model simulations, using literature reported soil hydraulic data, aided selection of borrow-source soil type(s) that resulted in predictions of negligible annual drainage . Final construction design was based on refined water-balance simulations using laboratory determined soil hydraulic values from borrow area natural soil horizons that were described with USDA soil classification methods. Cover design components included a thick clay loam (USDA), compaction of the standard Proctor maximum dry density (dry bulk density ), erosion control measures, top soil amended with biosolids, and seeding with native grasses. Favorable hydrologic performance for a period was documented by lysimeter-measured and Richards’-based calculations of annual drainage that were all . Water potential data suggest that ET removed water that infiltrated the cover and contributed to a persistent driving force for upward flow and removal of water from below the base of the cover.
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Acknowledgments
The writers gratefully acknowledge the funding and/or technical support from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-Omaha District, Fort Carson Directorate of Environmental Compliance and Management, and the U.S. Army Environmental Center. The writers greatly appreciate the technical support from Don Moses (USACE—Omaha, Neb.) and John Valentine (USDA—Colorado Springs, Colo.), and the support from numerous staff including Jon Gumtow (Natural Resources Consulting, Inc., Menasha, Wis.) for soil characterization, Caron Rifici (Fort Carson-DECAM) for vegetation surveys, Mike Johnson (USGS—Carson City, Nev.) for calibration of thermocouple psychrometers, and Robert Weseljak (AECOM—Sheboygan, Wis.) for numerical modeling assistance. The writers appreciate the efforts of two anonymous reviewers for their comments which improved the clarity of the manuscript.
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Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 135 • Issue 3 • March 2009
Pages: 316 - 332
Copyright
© 2009 ASCE.
History
Received: Jul 24, 2007
Accepted: May 17, 2008
Published online: Mar 1, 2009
Published in print: Mar 2009
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