HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Nyhan, J. W. Articles by Drennon, B. J. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Nyhan, J. W. Articles by Drennon, B. J. Agricola Articles by Nyhan, J. W. Articles by Drennon, B. J.

A Water Balance Study of Two Landfill Cover Designs for Semiarid Regions

Los Alamos Natl. Lab., Environmental Science Group, Mail Stop J495, Los Alamos, NM 87545.

^* Corresponding author.

ABSTRACT

The results from several field experiments on methods to control soil erosion, biointrusion, and water infiltration were used to design and test an enhanced landfill cover that improves the ability of the disposal site to isolate buried wastes. The performance of the improved cover design in managing water and biota at the disposal site was compared for 3 yr with that obtained from a more conventional design that has been widely used in the industry. The conventional cover design consisted of 20 cm of sandy loam topsoil over 108 cm of a sandy silt backfill, whereas the improved design consists of 71 cm of topsoil over a minimum of 46 cm of gravel, 91 cm of river cobble, and 38 cm of sandy silt backfill. Each plot was lined with an impermeable liner to allow for mass balance calculation of water dynamics. Results over a 3-yr period, including 2 wet yr, demonstrated that the improved design reduced percolation of water through the landfill cover by a factor of >4 over the conventional design. This decrease in percolation was attributed to a combination of increased evapotranspiration from the plant cover and the effect of a capillary barrier embedded in the enhanced cover profile in diverting water laterally in the cover. The field data are finally discussed in terms of its usefulness for waste management decisions to be made in the future for both new and existing landfills at Los Alumos, NM, and at other semiarid waste disposal sites.

Research funded under contract no. W-7405-Eng. 36 between the Natl. Low Level Waste Management Program of the U.S. Dep. of Energy and the Environmental Science Group of the Los Alamos Natl. Lab.

Received for publication April 10, 1989.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				D. D. Breshears, J. W. Nyhan, and D. W. Davenport Ecohydrology Monitoring and Excavation of Semiarid Landfill Covers a Decade after Installation Vadose Zone J., August 16, 2005; 4(3): 798 - 810. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. W. Nyhan A Seven-Year Water Balance Study of an Evapotranspiration Landfill Cover Varying in Slope for Semiarid Regions Vadose Zone J., June 9, 2005; 4(3): 466 - 480. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				B. R. Scanlon, R. C. Reedy, K. E. Keese, and S. F. Dwyer Evaluation of Evapotranspirative Covers for Waste Containment in Arid and Semiarid Regions in the Southwestern USA Vadose Zone J., February 1, 2005; 4(1): 55 - 71. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. P. Johansen, T. E. Hakonson, F. W. Whicker, J. R. Simanton, and J. J. Stone Hydrologic Response and Radionuclide Transport Following Fire at Semiarid Sites J. Environ. Qual., November 1, 2001; 30(6): 2010 - 2017. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				I. Porro Hydrologic Behavior of Two Engineered Barriers following Extreme Wetting J. Environ. Qual., March 1, 2001; 30(2): 655 - 667. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]