LEACHATE-RECYCLE INFILTRATION PONDS

A leachate-recycle system (LRS) consisting of four infiltration ponds was operated and monitored over a 28-month period at an active lined landfill in Florida. Ponds were constructed by excavating into the landfilled waste and by compacting lifts of solid waste to form the pond walls. A total of 36,470 m(3) of leachate were recirculated, representing 63% of the total volume of leachate generated. The entire leachate stream was not recycled because of the large volume of leachate and the low leachate infiltration rates into the landfill. Water budgets conducted on individual ponds over the first 16 months of operation revealed that the infiltration rates ranged from 6 x 10(-6) to 9 x 10(-6) cm/sec. The vertical saturated hydraulic conductivity of the compacted waste was estimated in the range of 3 x 10(-6)-4 x 10(-6)cm/sec, lower than values reported in the literature.