Surface and subsurface water contamination by leachate from disposal site at Tambon Khlong Kwang, Amphoe Sainoi, Changwat Nonthaburi

Abstract

A provincial solid waste disposal site at Amphoe Sainoi, Changwat Nonthaburi was studied. The disposal site covers an area of 108,800 m2, as 73,600 m2 of dump waste, and has been in service since 1982. As a general practice, the waste are openly dumped and left uncovered for the natural decomposition. In the earlier period, the wastes were dumped into an excavated pit, then piled up higher about 10 m. above the ground level. The sub-ground waste volume is 370,657 m3, and over 800,000 m3 above the ground. Water samples in the adjacent areas with a radius of 2 kilometers from the site were collected for a period of 12 months. Seven water samples from surface locations, four from shallow monitoring wells, and six from the 200-250 m. deep wells, were chemically analyzed to detect the potential contamination due to the leachate from the disposal site. The water quality analysis suggested that the shallow subsurface water resource within the site be contaminated while the surface, deep subsurface, and some distant shallow subsurface water resources are not yet contaminated at the present, but could be in the future.