Daniel Parker

The County of Cumberland has used a large tract of Crown Land near Springhill Junction
as their main municipal waste disposal site since 1978. The site was initially commissioned as a first-generation landfill, known as the Little Forks Landfill, and operated with a minimal leachate treatment system. Increased volumes of waste disposed of at the site forced the County to design and operate a second-generation landfill immediately adjacent to the old site, known as the Cumberland Central Landfill. An elaborate groundwater monitoring program has been established around the perimeter of both sites, and results from this program have been analyzed to determinethe presence of leachate in the surrounding area.

Chloride and total dissolved solids were selected as primary indicators for the presence of
leachate, and pH was used mainly as a secondary indicator. Seventeen wells at six monitoring sites located downgradient of and adjacent to the landfills were used in this study. The concentration of each indicator parameter in these wells was compared to the background thresholds. Potentially impacted wells in this study occur downgradient and lateral to the firstgeneration site, and unimpacted wells are downgradient and adjacent to the second-generation site. Where indicator concentrations exceed background levels, only surficial and intermediate wells are affected. Deeper bedrock wells are considered relatively unaffected. Potential impacts are associated with the former Little F arks Landfill. The Cumberland Central Landfill is presently functioning as designed to minimize environmental impact.

Keywords: background threshold, contact time, contaminant plume, first- and second-generation landfill, groundwater, indicator parameters, migration
Pages: 81
Supervisors: Heather Cross / Hemsworth