Occurrence and distribution of leachate in a solid waste landfill: A field‐scale study

A field‐scale analysis for leachate flow was done for Sections 1/9 and 6/7 of the Fresh Kills landfill at Staten Island, New York. The leachate monitoring programme included field data collection of the leachate mound level for a six‐month period. The monitoring points consisted of discretely screened piezometers and wells set at various depths down to the bottom of the landfill. The position of the iso‐leachate mound head lines, derived from the field data, represented and delineated the shape of the leachate mound inside the landfill. The field data of the leachate mound head were used in the analysis of the hydraulic properties of the refuse and leachate flow rates through Sections 1/9 and 6/7 of the landfill. Piezometers and wells installed near the existing leachate collection line in Section 1/9 helped establish the gradients from which a refined estimate of the hydraulic conductivity was made. From the leachate mound head contours and flow gradients, contributions of flow from different sections of the mound were identified. Finally, the leachate flow rates were computed using Darcy's law.