Impact of Landfills on Soil and Ground Water: A Case Study

Abstract

Growing population demands for more and more land as well as other resources to fulfil their basic needs and daily requirements. As the population grows the consumption of resources increases that leads to generation of more waste materials. This waste can be solid or liquid that need proper disposal or it can lead to hazardous condition in a region. Municipalities around the world use either burning of the waste material or they put the waste into landfills (also known as dumping grounds). Landfill is most popular method of solid waste disposal in the developing countries like India. But due to lack of technology and proper funding these landfills are the source of pollution to soil and water. Toxic materials coming in contact with the surface and subsurface soil as well as the water resources lead to degradation of these valuable resources. In the light of above discussion the present study intends to examine the quality of soil and water resources in and around the dumping location of SahibzadaAjit Singh Nagar. The study will analyse the chemical, physical and biological characteristics of the soils and ground water sources within the landfill location and at the specific distance. Study is based on the primary data collected from the field and analysed in the national level testing laboratories. Results obtained are then compared with the world health organisation and Indian Standards of Drinking Water Quality.