Groundwater contamination by landfill generated leachate is a problem that is increasingly addressed for proposed and existing landfill sites.This thesis examines groundwater contamination movement from the abandoned Delaware County Municipal landfill. The site is located in the crest of a highly permeable sand and gravel glacial esker which allows for rapid movement of ground water and any contaminants introduced into it.The landfill site was originally investigated in the late 1970's by Ed Lusch, a graduate student at the Ball State University Geology Department. That study showed some indications of ground water contamination movement to about 400 feet west of the site, in the direction of ground water flow. This indicated position of a contamination plume suggested that leachate, generated from the landfill site, had moved to that position since (or possibly before) the closing of the landfill in 1971.The present study, using a combination of surface resistivity methods, on-site test wells, and chemical analyses of ground water, attempted to determine the degree of contamination movement from the site since the original study and the extent to which the local aquifer had been affected. Results of this investigation revealed an apparent slow movement of leachate from the landfill westward towards the Mississinewa River, also in the direction of ground water flow. Surface resistivity methods of this study revealed the plume of contamination (indicated by resistivity "low" area) to now exist at approximately the same location as indicated in the earlier study, but to have expanded laterally. This investigation also found indications of the contamination plume well into the underlying fractured dolostone.Chemical analyses of nearby residential wells also revealed slightly elevated amounts of chloride, ammonia and specific conductivity in the ground water of the glacial esker south of the abandoned landfill site. The presence of three other dump sites, including a sludge dump, along the esker south of the landfill, offers questions as to the source of ground water contamination.Ball State UniversityMuncie, IN 47306
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BSU/oai:cardinalscholar.bsu.edu:handle/183197 |
| Date | 03 June 2011 |
| Creators | Day, Stephen Wayne |
| Contributors | Roepke, Harlan H. |
| Source Sets | Ball State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Format | v, 184 leaves : ill. ; 28 cm. |
| Source | Virtual Press |
| Coverage | n-us-in |
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