Impact of Solid Municipal Waste Landfills on Groundwater Resources: Need for Integrated Solid Waste Management Aligned with the Conservation of Groundwater

Abstract

Groundwater, one of the most important resources of a nation, is a source of about 35% of water which is used by us. Aquifers all around the globe are running dry because of urbanization and overexploitation, and the scarce water that is available is becoming more unsuitable for usage by the day. The concern of waste disposal which comes along with the population growth is grave. There is a lack of proper waste disposal methods which has left most cities with vast open landfills as the only way of waste disposal, supporting tonnes of solid waste. The resulting leachate, which percolates through these piles of a city’s concentrated garbage, eventually reaches the groundwater on which the city relies. The leachate becomes a weighty source of pollution for the already dwindling groundwater. Many scientific studies focus on the impact of municipal solid waste landfills on the groundwater resource and prove that the leachate from such sites is potent source of groundwater pollution. Multitudinous management strategies, new designs, ideas and technologies have come into limelight to reduce such serious impacts of solid waste landfills on groundwater resources. The chapter pivots on the dire need to understand the gravity of the situation, for a better solution to the impact of landfills on water resources in densely populated cities around the globe and for integrated solid waste management aligned with the conservation of groundwater.