Description:

The precipitation to the landfill cover is balanced by the combination of following effects: run-off, cumulating in soil, evapotranspiration, and percolation. For a given amount of precipitation, in order to reduce or eliminate percolation, the effects of run-off and/or evapotranspiration need to be enhanced.

Water Harvesting

Water harvesting uses runoff enhancement to manage landfill site water balance. This enhancement can be achieved by simply covering landfill cover surface with metal rain gutter placed parallel to the slope. The percentage of runoff increases when gutter coverage increases. However, too much coverage (> 40%) has little effect on runoff enhancement.

Vegetative Cover

Vegetative cover reduces soil moisture via plant uptake and evapotranspiration. Plant cover also limits soil erosion. Vegetative cover is more stable because it emphasizes use of natural materials and configurations, which implies longevity.

Synonyms:

Applicability:

Landfill cover enhancement is applicable for traditional landfills, surface impoundment’s, waste piles, sludges, and some mine tailings. It may prove to be less costly than a conventional barrier because it uses simple structure or local resources. It is simple in design, easy to install over an existing landfill cover, and easy to remove if other uses for the land emerge in the future.

Limitations:

• Proper site evaluation is required.
• Plant coverage is seasonal.
• Too much gutter coverage (> 40%) has little effect on runoff enhancement.

Data Needs:

A detailed discussion of data elements is provided in Subsection 2.2.1 (Data Requirements for Soil, Sediment, and Sludge).

Performance Data:

Landfill cover enhancement is a fairly new technology that is still being tested and demonstrated.

Naval Facilities Engineering Services Center initiated a demonstration project at Marine Corp Base Hawaii to evaluate infiltration control cover design. Metal rain gutters were placed on the ground surface and parallel to the slope. Remaining surface was seeded with 6 native grasses and shrubs. After 9 months of operation, it was found that plots with runoff enhancement had 2 to 5 times more runoff, and 2 to 3 times less percolation.

Cost:

References:

Innovative Remediation Technologies:  Field Scale Demonstration Project in North America, 2nd Edition

Abstracts of Remediation Case Studies, Volume 4,  June, 2000, EPA 542-R-00-006

Guide to Documenting and Managing Cost and Performance Information for Remediation Projects - Revised Version, October, 1998, EPA 542-B-98-007

Dwyer, S., 1997. Alternative Landfill Cover Demonstration. Sandia National Laboratories, U.S. DOE Environmental Management, Office of Science and Technology.

EPA, 1998. Evaluation of Subsurface Engineered Barriers at Waste Sites, Technology Report, EPA/542/R-98/005.

Finley, R., 1997. Demonstrate Capillary Barrier Design Tools. Sandia National Laboratories, U.S. DOE Environmental Management, Office of Science and Technology.

Hakonson, T.E., L. Karr, and B. Harre, 1997. A Water Balance Study of Infiltration Control Landfill Cover Design at Marine Corp Base Hawaii, Technical paper, Naval Facilities Engineering Services Center, Port Hueneme, CA.

AFCEE/ERT, 1999. Landfill Covers for Use at Air Force Installations.

• DOE Demonstration, Sandia National Laboratories
• MCAS Kaneohe Bay

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A list of vendors offering Soil Containment Treatment is available from  EPA REACH IT which combines information from three established EPA databases, the Vendor Information System for Innovative Treatment Technologies (VISITT), the Vendor Field Analytical and Characterization Technologies System (Vendor FACTS), and the Innovative Treatment Technologies (ITT), to give users access to comprehensive information about treatment and characterization technologies and their applications.

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