Evaluating The Impact On The Environment Through Water Quality Assessment Of A Closed Landfill Site In Bengaluru, Karnataka

Abstract

Rapid industrialization, population explosion, and unplanned urbanization have resulted in a problem in the management of waste. The waste has been dumped haphazardously on the outskirts of cities which kept on accumulating for decades. These landfills have caused greenhouse gas emissions, groundwater contamination, loss of biodiversity, etc. The odor from landfills and the mixing of leachate in water bodies made life miserable for the people dwelling in surrounding areas. According to the National Green Tribunal, 10,000 hectares of usable urban land are locked up under 3,159 landfills holding 1,300 million tonnes of legacy waste in the country. One such closed landfill site named Mavallipura Landfill of 100 acres has been left unattended for the past 10 years due to local community agitation. This paper focuses on the status of this landfill by evaluating the physico-chemical quality of water in the nearby community pond, forest pond, two leachate ponds, an open well, and borewell water of that area. The surface water and groundwater samples of this area fall under the ‘poor water’ category. The key parameters of leachate such as high pH (> 9), low Chemical Oxygen Demand concentration (< 1500 mg/L), and low metal concentration indicate the landfill leachate age is above 10 years but high ionic contents such as Sodium (Na⁺) >100mg/L, Potassium (K⁺) >90mg/L, Chloride (Cl^-)>1500 m/L, indicates that the landfill still requires time to stabilize. The Leachate Pollution Index values (>13) were above the standard 7.5 which means the landfill requires post-closure management.  For restoration and conservation of biodiversity, effective measures such as leachate treatment, biomining, etc. should be initiated as this area is Gomala land, and at present the landfill is used for cattle grazing.