Leachate Characterization and Assessment of Groundwater Pollution Near Municipal Solid Waste Dumpsite, Thanjavur

Abstract

The increase in population, urbanization, and industrialization leads to increase in the generation of solid waste. The improper management of solid waste creates various problems. In many developing countries open dumping is practiced for solid waste management. One of the major problems of open dumping is groundwater pollution. The main objective of this paper is to determine the ground water pollution due to leachate infiltration beneath and near the dumpsite. The ground water and leachate samples were collected from the area nearer to the municipal solid waste dump site (Srinivasapuram) of Thanjavur city. The physico chemical parameters were analyzed for both ground water and leachate samples. According to District Ground Water Brochure of Thanjavur district, the ground water quality of Thanjavur district is slightly alkaline and rich in TH, Nitrate and Sulfate. But there is an increase in other parameters also and this may due to the infiltration of leachate into the ground water. The BOD5/COD ratio of leachate is less than 0.5mg/l. The Water Quality Index Level for the collected samples is also determined.