Field Hydrology of Landfill Final Covers with Composite Barrier Layers
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 139, Issue 1
Abstract
A study was conducted at seven sites across the United States to evaluate the field hydrology of final covers with a composite barrier (a geomembrane over a soil barrier or a geosynthetic clay liner) for final closure of landfills. The water balance of each cover was monitored with a large () instrumented drainage lysimeter. With one exception, the covers limited the average annual percolation to < 2.8 mm/year (< 0.4% of precipitation). The geomembrane barrier at one site (Marina, California) was likely damaged during construction; percolation at this site averaged 30 mm/year (6.9% of precipitation). The annual percolation through the cover at the wettest site (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) ranged between 0.1 and 6.2 mm/year. The annual percolation at arid and semiarid sites was typically no more than a trace (< 0.1 mm/year). Percolation from all test covers generally was coincident with high water storage in the surface soil layer and lateral flow in the drainage layer on the surface of the geomembrane barrier. Water balance predictions were made with the hydrologic evaluation of landfill performance model using site-specific input. Surface runoff was overpredicted and evapotranspiration underpredicted when as-built soil hydraulic properties were used as input. Better agreement was obtained when in-service soil hydraulic properties were used as input. The lateral flow was consistently overpredicted regardless of the hydraulic properties, and no correspondence existed between the predicted and measured percolations.
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Acknowledgments
Funding for this study was provided through the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Department of Energy (DOE), and Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). Each of the site owners contributed to the cost of construction of the test sections. The EPA support was provided through the Superfund Innovative Technology Evaluation (SITE) Program. The DOE support was provided under Cooperative Agreement No. DE-FC01-06EW07053, entitled the Consortium For Risk Evaluation With Stakeholder Participation III, awarded to Vanderbilt University. The opinions, findings, conclusions, and recommendations expressed herein are solely those of the authors, and do not necessarily represent the views of the EPA, DOE, NRC, or Vanderbilt University.
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© 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jan 17, 2012
Accepted: Apr 5, 2012
Published online: Apr 11, 2012
Published in print: Jan 1, 2013
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