One of the most important problems in the design, operation and long-term care of landfills is managing leachate formed when water passes through the deposited waste. It contains products of decomposition of organic materials and soluble ions which can present a pollution problem for surface and groundwaters. Some topics discussed are these: a potential water contaminant; factors affecting leachate generation (climate, topography, soil types, and the final vegetative cover); predicting leachate production rates; the water balance; landfilling techniques and leachate chemistry; natural attenuation limited; six attenuation mechanisms (mechanical filtration, precipitation, adsorption, dilution and dispersion, microbial activity, and volatilization); mechanisms working together; planning during site development; developing a soil liner; geosynthetic liners; and leachate treatment processes.
