Risk assessment for groundwater in the region of municipal landfill systems in Tychy-Urbanowice (Southern Poland)

Abstract

An Environmental Risk Assessment is an efficient technical and analytical method for analyzing environmental impacts and it supports the decision-making process connected with projects variants by using historical data collection, identification of regional risk sources, probability and impact estimation of signal risk type. In this article, an Environmental Risk Assessment was performed for groundwater quality in the region of municipal landfills in Tychy-Urbanowice (Southern Poland) to assess the impact of various factors on the quality of groundwater in the region. The assessment used qualitative and quantitative risk analysis methods, including cause and consequence analysis, completion of an effect/probability matrix and utilization of the SWOT analysis method. The results of the assessment indicate that use of the SWOT analysis was the best method for groundwater risk assessment in the examined area. The analysis included an assessment of the spatial and temporal variability of leachate and groundwater quality (using data from a groundwater monitoring system), simulation of the longevity of both the top and bottom security system, spatial planning and an assessment of the impact of other parameters on groundwater, terrain and climatic conditions. The overall result for this analysis for the likely potential groundwater hazard was a score of -4. For the purposes of further risk analyses, it is possible to consider additional factors that are likely to affect the water quality of the area under investigation or to use other methods that will be based on a time series analysis.