JENRM, Vol. I, No. 1, 13-18, 2014 Research Article Evaluation of landfill leachate management systems in Ghana Kodwo Beedu Keelson * Abstract This paper presents an evaluation of landfill leachate management systems at three waste disposal sites in the wet equatorial climatic zone of Ghana. This particular climatic zone experiences the highest annual rainfall in the country. It was observed during walkover surveys that none of the waste disposal sites had any active or passive leachate management systems. It was also seen and demonstrated through computer simulations that the highest leachate flows occur during the months of June and October. Groundwater pollution, vadoze zone pollution, soil contamination and human health risks at all the locations were characterised as high. However surfacewater pollution risks were considered as low due the fact that there is adequate buffer distance from the Pra and Ankobra rivers to each of these individual dumpsites. The significance of this study is that it will provide guidance to decision makers and technical officers in other municipalities and districts within this climatic zone. Keywords waste disposal — groundwater pollution — surface water pollution — dumpsites * , Department of Civil Engineering, Kaaf University College *Corresponding author: [email protected]Content Introduction 13 1 Materials and Methods 14 1.1 Description of Study Sites ................. 14 1.2 Data collection ......................... 14 1.3 GIS-based spatial analysis ................. 14 1.4 Water balance analysis ................... 14 2 Results 15 2.1 Current operational status ................. 15 2.2 Existing leachate management systems ........ 15 2.3 Environmental risks and hazards ............. 15 2.4 Water balance analysis results .............. 16 3 Discussions 16 4 Conclusion 17 Acknowledgments 17 References 17 Introduction Landfill leachate is defined as the liquid that has percolated through solid waste and has extracted dissolved or suspended materials [1]. Leachate is generated either from external water or from within the waste mass. The external water sources include precipitation, surface water run-on and ground water interflow. Leachate needs to be controlled in a landfill for the following reasons [2, 3]: to reduce the potential for seepage out of the landfill through the sides or the base either by ex- ploiting weaknesses in the liner or by flow through its matrix; to prevent liquid levels rising to such an extent that they can spill over and cause uncontrolled pollution to ditches, drains, watercourses etc.; to influence the processes leading to the formation of landfill gas, chemical and biological stabilisation of the landfill; to minimise the interaction between the leachate and the liner; and in the case of above ground landfill, to ensure the stability of the waste. In Ghana the use of landfilling is still the preferred option for waste disposal in all the metropoli- tan areas, municipalities and districts. The siting of landfill sites, often, do not follow any planning considerations and lead to foul smells and flies in the rainy season, continuous smoke from smouldering fires, and a pollution of nearby water bodies. These open dumps still pose environmental hazards even after waste disposal activities have ceased at those lo- cations. Research studies on abandoned waste disposal sites in Accra by [4, 5, 6] show that leachate samples have high concentration of nutrients and polycyclic aromatic hydrocar- bons. Significant concentrations of heavy metals such as iron, zinc and aluminium were also observed. The wet equatorial climatic zone in Ghana experiences the highest annual rainfall and as such is much more susceptible to the adverse effects of uncontrolled leachate release arising from the lack of ade- quate leachate and surface water management systems. The aim of this research paper was to undertake an evaluation of existing leachate management systems at three waste disposal sites in the equatorial climatic zone of Ghana. It involved the collection of field data and the development of computer mod- els to assess the hydrologic performance of existing systems. Some concluding thoughts are then put forward on how these waste disposal sites can be upgraded to minimize the impact of leachate flows during and after their useful design life
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Evaluation of landfill leachate management systems in Ghana
This paper presents an evaluation of landfill leachate management systems at three waste disposal sites in the wet equatorial climatic zone of Ghana. This particular climatic zone experiences the highest annual rainfall in the country. It was observedduring walkover surveys that none of the waste disposal sites had any active or passive leachate management systems. Itwas also seen and demonstrated through computer simulations that the highest leachate flows occur during the monthsof June and October. Groundwater pollution, vadoze zone pollution, soil contamination and human health risks at all thelocations were characterised as high. However surfacewater pollution risks were considered as low due the fact that there is adequate buffer distance from the Pra and Ankobra rivers to each of these individual dumpsites. The significance of this study is that it will provide guidance to decision makers and technical officers in other municipalities and districts within this climatic zone.
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JENRM Vol I No 1 13-18 2014Research Article
Evaluation of landfill leachate management systemsin GhanaKodwo Beedu Keelson
AbstractThis paper presents an evaluation of landfill leachate management systems at three waste disposal sites in the wet equatorialclimatic zone of Ghana This particular climatic zone experiences the highest annual rainfall in the country It was observedduring walkover surveys that none of the waste disposal sites had any active or passive leachate management systems Itwas also seen and demonstrated through computer simulations that the highest leachate flows occur during the monthsof June and October Groundwater pollution vadoze zone pollution soil contamination and human health risks at all thelocations were characterised as high However surfacewater pollution risks were considered as low due the fact that there isadequate buffer distance from the Pra and Ankobra rivers to each of these individual dumpsites The significance of this studyis that it will provide guidance to decision makers and technical officers in other municipalities and districts within this climaticzone
Department of Civil Engineering Kaaf University CollegeCorresponding author kodwobeeduyahoocom
Content
Introduction 13
1 Materials and Methods 1411 Description of Study Sites 1412 Data collection 1413 GIS-based spatial analysis 1414 Water balance analysis 14
2 Results 1521 Current operational status 1522 Existing leachate management systems 1523 Environmental risks and hazards 1524 Water balance analysis results 16
3 Discussions 16
4 Conclusion 17
Acknowledgments 17
References 17
IntroductionLandfill leachate is defined as the liquid that has percolatedthrough solid waste and has extracted dissolved or suspendedmaterials [1] Leachate is generated either from external wateror from within the waste mass The external water sourcesinclude precipitation surface water run-on and ground waterinterflow Leachate needs to be controlled in a landfill for thefollowing reasons [2 3] to reduce the potential for seepageout of the landfill through the sides or the base either by ex-ploiting weaknesses in the liner or by flow through its matrix
to prevent liquid levels rising to such an extent that they canspill over and cause uncontrolled pollution to ditches drainswatercourses etc to influence the processes leading to theformation of landfill gas chemical and biological stabilisationof the landfill to minimise the interaction between the leachateand the liner and in the case of above ground landfill to ensurethe stability of the waste In Ghana the use of landfilling isstill the preferred option for waste disposal in all the metropoli-tan areas municipalities and districts The siting of landfillsites often do not follow any planning considerations andlead to foul smells and flies in the rainy season continuoussmoke from smouldering fires and a pollution of nearby waterbodies These open dumps still pose environmental hazardseven after waste disposal activities have ceased at those lo-cations Research studies on abandoned waste disposal sitesin Accra by [4 5 6] show that leachate samples have highconcentration of nutrients and polycyclic aromatic hydrocar-bons Significant concentrations of heavy metals such as ironzinc and aluminium were also observed The wet equatorialclimatic zone in Ghana experiences the highest annual rainfalland as such is much more susceptible to the adverse effectsof uncontrolled leachate release arising from the lack of ade-quate leachate and surface water management systems Theaim of this research paper was to undertake an evaluation ofexisting leachate management systems at three waste disposalsites in the equatorial climatic zone of Ghana It involved thecollection of field data and the development of computer mod-els to assess the hydrologic performance of existing systemsSome concluding thoughts are then put forward on how thesewaste disposal sites can be upgraded to minimize the impactof leachate flows during and after their useful design life
Evaluation of landfill leachate management systems in Ghana mdash 1418
1 Materials and Methods11 Description of Study SitesThree waste disposal sites in the Central and Western Regionsshown in Figure 1 were visited during the study These disposalsites are Bompieso Dumpsite in the Tarkwa Nsuaem MunicipalArea Mfoum Dumpsite in the Upper Denkyira East MunicipalArea and the Axim Dumpsite in the Nzema East MunicipalArea The three sites lie within the wet equatorial climaticzone in Ghana which has mean annual rainfall ranging between1400mm ndash 2000mm
12 Data collectionPrimary data was collected through field investigations andface-to-face interviews with relevant resource persons Sec-ondary data were obtained from academic journals technicalpublications and internet sources Data on existing leachateand surfacewater management infrastructure was obtained bymeans of a walkover surveys at the various waste disposalsites A hand held GPS was used to obtain the geographiccoordinates of various sites Interviews were conducted withthe municipal environmental health and planning officers atthe various municipal assemblies Information on day-to-daywaste disposal site activities was obtained from officials of theZoomlion Ltd a local firm which is responsible for landfill siteoperations in Ghana Discussions were held with either scav-engers or residents living close to these disposal sites on issuesregarding the nature frequency and impacts of leachate flowsAn extensive review of literature on all the study sites withrespect to the regional and site specific hydrologic geologicalseismic characteristics was also done
13 GIS-based spatial analysisThe Map Window GIS software was used to process the GPSdata obtained during the walkover surveys MapWindow GISis an extensible open source geographic information systemdeveloped by the Idaho State University Geospatial Software(httpwwwmapwindoworg) This software hasmap querying features which allow the user to calculate areasand distances between user-defined points on a map The geo-processing tasks involved importing the GPS survey pointsinto base maps in order to determine buffer distances fromwater bodies areas of high groundwater level and ecologicaland cultural heritage sites
14 Water balance analysisThe Thornthwaite water-balance computer program was usedto conduct a water balance analysis for the various waste dis-posal sites This computer program which was developed bythe US Geological Survey [7] analyses the allocation of wateramong various components of the hydrologic system using amonthly accounting procedure This procedure for estimatinglandfill water balance provides a faster method for analysiscompared to the HELP Model due to its minimal site specificinput data requirements [3 8] The required input data in-cludes monthly precipitation and temperature values runoff
Figure 1 Location map of the study sites
factor direct runoff factor soil-moisture storage capacity lati-tude of location rain temperature threshold snow temperaturethreshold and maximum snow-melt rate Table 1 and Table 2show the mean monthly rainfall and temperature values respec-tively for the various locations [9 10] The output simulationresults include the actual evapotranspiration potential evapo-transpiration direct runoff runoff soil moisture storage andpercolation
Table 1 Mean monthly rainfall at waste disposal sites
Water balance simulations were done for four differentsoil types namely sandy loam silty loam clay loam and clayThe soil moisture storage capacities for the various soil typeswhich are shown in Table 3 were computed by multiplyingan assumed landfill cover depth of 600 mm with the avail-able water which is the difference between the field capacityand wilting point The theoretical basis for the determinationof leachate quantities using the Thornthwaite water balanceanalysis method is outlined in [11] Water which is beingrouted through a waste disposal site basically consists of twophases routing through the soil cover and routing throughthe compacted solid waste beneath This research study only
Evaluation of landfill leachate management systems in Ghana mdash 1518
Table 2 Mean monthly temperatures at waste disposal sites
Table 3 Mean monthly temperatures at waste disposal sites
Soil Type Moisture Storage Capacity (mm)
Sandy Loam 90Silty Loam 120Clay Loam 150Clay 180
considered routing through the soil cover due to the lack ofinformation on the depth of the various dumpsites
2 Results21 Current operational statusThe three dumpsites are operational and receive solid wastefrom the respective municipal area capitals All the sites canbe categorized as open dumps The Axim dumpsite shown inFigure 2 is located on the rightndashof-way of a major gas pipelinewhich is being constructed in the Western Region The Mfoumdumpsite shown in Figure 3 is located on the rightndashof-way ofthe Ghana Grid Company high voltage transmission towersThe Bompieso dumpsite shown in Figure 4 does not have anyconflicting land use issues
22 Existing leachate management systemsWalkover surveys that were conducted at the Axim Bomp-ieso and Mfoum dumpsites showed that there were no existingleachate management-related site infrastructure and routine ac-tivities that are intended to reduce the generation emission andenvironmental monitoring of leachate at any of these dump-sites
Figure 2 Current conditions at the Axim dumpsite
Figure 3 Current conditions at the Mfoum dumpsite
Figure 4 Current conditions at the Bompieso dumpsite
23 Environmental risks and hazardsSoil contamination groundwater and vadose zone pollution atthe site were categorised as high due to the absence of landfillliners Results from geoprocessing of the GPS data indicatethat all the dumpsites are located within the catchment of thePra and Ankobra river basins The buffer distances from thedumpsites to any of the tributaries of these two river basins asshown in Figure 5 are greater than 1 kilometre Consequentlysurfacewater pollution risks from the various dumpsites areclassified as low However leachate flows from these dumpsitescould still pose a risk to domestic animals and livestock whodrink contaminated water originating from dumpsite runoffHuman health risk are classified as high for settlements closeto the dumpsite as a result of direct exposure to soils contam-inated with leachate inhalation of soil contaminants whichhave vaporised or consumption of potable water from leachatecontaminated abstraction wells The three dumpsites were alsoobserved to have adequate buffer distance from sensitive eco-logical sites which are indicated as brown coloured polygonsshown in Figure 6 This would seem to suggest that wastedisposal activities at these sites would not pose a direct threat
Evaluation of landfill leachate management systems in Ghana mdash 1618
to life and property there
24 Water balance analysis resultsTable 6 Table 7 and Table 8 presents the water balance anal-ysis results for the Axim Bompieso and Mfoum dumpsitesrespectively The highest runoff estimates were obtained forthe sandy loam cover soil whereas the highest evapotranspi-ration estimates were obtained for clay Table 7 Table 8 andTable 9 show the monthly and seasonal variation of percola-tion for the different soil covers at the Axim Bompieso andMfoum sites respectively These observations seem to suggestthat peak leachate flows are to be expected in June and Octoberwhich are the peak rainfall months in the major and minorrainy seasons respectively
Table 4 Annual water balance estimates for Axim dumpsite
Leachate management at Bompieso DumpsiteThe Bompieso dumpsite serves the Tarkwa township which hasan estimated population of about 35000 inhabitants For sucha small urban area the Ghana Landfill Guidelines [12] recom-mends the provision of at least an improved manual dumpsiteThis site in its current state can still be used for a couple moreyears before it gets filled up It is therefore necessary that it is
Evaluation of landfill leachate management systems in Ghana mdash 1718
upgraded from an open dump to an improved manual dumpsiteas stipulated in the technical guideline The basic leachatemanagement system that is prescribed for an improved manualdumpsite is the provision of a perimeter channels to collect andallow for infiltration of leachate into the ground media TheBompieso dumpsite has adequate space for the construction ofperimeter channels to intercept flows These channels wouldtypically be gravel-filled [1]
Leachate management at Axim and Mfoum dump-sitesThe Axim and Mfoum dumpsites have a limited site lives byvirtue of their peculiar conflicting land use issues It maytherefore not be justified in economic terms to construct newengineered systems However leachate management shouldbe one of the major priorities as part of a remediation and clo-sure plan for both facilities This is imperative because closeddumps may continue to pose environmental risks if adequatemeasures are put in place [5 13] The main leachate manage-ment system that must be provided as part of the closure planis the placement of a final cover [1] The final cover wouldtypically have a thickness of between 400 ndash 600 mm Theregional soil groups in the Axim amd Mfoum dumpsites areoxisols and oxisols-ultisols respectively [14 15] The oxisolshave a significant content of clay and as such may be suitablefor use as a final cover as demonstrated in the water balancesimulations This may however not be the case for the oxisol-ultisol soil group in the Dunkwa area which contains a muchlower content of clay
Table 8 Monthly and seasonal variation of percolation forthe Bompieso dumpsite(measurements in mm)
4 ConclusionThis paper has presented an evaluation of leachate manage-ment systems at three waste disposal sites in the wet equatorialclimatic zone of Ghana None of the waste disposal sites hadany active or passive leachate management systems It wasalso observed during walkover surveys and through computersimulations that the highest leachate flows occur during themonths of June and October Groundwater pollution vadozezone pollution soil contamination and human health risks atall the three locations were characterised as high However sur-facewater pollution risks were considered as low due the factthat there is adequate buffer distance from the Pra and Ankobrarivers to each of these dumpsitesThe Bompieso dumpsite atTarkwa would have to be provided with gravel filled channelsin order to minimise the effects of leachate generation TheAxim amd Mfoum dumpsites have to be closed down as soonas practical and provided with a final soil cover Recommen-dations for further study include a quantitative assessment ofsoil contamination and ground water pollution in Tarkwa byconducting laboratory testing of field samples
AcknowledgmentsThe author would like to express their gratitude to the KspyxLtdWastePro Software for use of their computer facilities
References[1] RUSHBROOK P and PUGH M (1999)Solid waste land-
fills in low and middle income countries A technical guideto planning design and operation World Bank TechnicalPublication 426 World Bank
[2] IRELAND EPA (2000) Landfill site design Ireland En-vironmental Protection Agency httpwwwepaie[Accessed 7t h July 2012]
Evaluation of landfill leachate management systems in Ghana mdash 1818
[3] WSDOE (1987)Solid Waste Landfill Design ManualWashington State Department of Ecology PublicationNo 87-13 httpwwwaccesswagov [Accessed12t h July 2012]
[4] DENUTSUI D ET AL (2012) Leachate characteriza-tion and assessment of unsaturated zone pollution nearmunicipal solid waste landfill site at Oblogo Accra-GhanaResearch Journal of Environmental and Earth Sciences4(1) 134-141
[5] OSEI J ET AL ( 2011) The impact of Oblogo landfill sitein Accra-Ghana on the surrounding environment ResearchJournal of Environmental and Earth Sciences 3(6)633-636633-636
[6] ESSUMANG DK ET AL (2009) Source assessment andanalysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAHrsquos) at theOblogo waste disposal sites and some water bodies in andaround the Accra Metropolis of GhanaJournal of WaterResource and Protection (1)456- 468
[7] MCCABE GJand MARKSTROM SL(2007) Amonthly water-balance model driven by a graphical userinterface US Geological Survey Open-File Report 2007-1008
[8] SCHROEDER P ET AL (1994) The Hydrologic Eval-uation of Landfill Performance (HELP) engineering doc-umentation for version 3 EPA600R-64168b US Envi-ronmental Protection Agency Risk Reduction LaboratoryCincinnati Ohio
[9] GHANA HYDRO-DATABASE (2014a) Central RegionClimate Fact Sheet No CLM-FF-CNRhttpwwwghanahydrodatacom [Accessed 5th January 2014]
[10] GHANA HYDRO-DATABASE (2014b) Western RegionClimate Fact Sheet No CLM-FF-WR httpwwwghanahydrodatacom [Accessed 5th January 2014]
[11] FENN DG ET AL (1975)Use of water balance methodfor predicting leachate generation from waste disposal sitesUnited States Environmental Protection Agency ReportNo EPA530SW-168 httpnepisepagov [Ac-cessed 5th July 2012]
[13] USEPA (1988)Case studies on ground water and surfacewater contamination from municipal solid waste landfillsUnited States Environmental Protection Agency Officeof Solid Waste Report No EPA530SW-88-040 httpnepisepagov [Accessed 6th July 2012]
[14] OBENG H (2000) Soil classification in Ghana SelectedEconomic Issues No 3 Centre for Policy Analysis AccraGhana
[15] USDA (1999) Soil Taxonomy A Basic System of SoilClassification for Making and Interpreting Soil Surveys2nd Edition Agriculture Handbook No 436 United States
Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conserva-tion Service Washington DC
Introduction
Materials and Methods
Description of Study Sites
Data collection
GIS-based spatial analysis
Water balance analysis
Results
Current operational status
Existing leachate management systems
Environmental risks and hazards
Water balance analysis results
Discussions
Conclusion
Acknowledgments
References
Evaluation of landfill leachate management systems in Ghana mdash 1418
1 Materials and Methods11 Description of Study SitesThree waste disposal sites in the Central and Western Regionsshown in Figure 1 were visited during the study These disposalsites are Bompieso Dumpsite in the Tarkwa Nsuaem MunicipalArea Mfoum Dumpsite in the Upper Denkyira East MunicipalArea and the Axim Dumpsite in the Nzema East MunicipalArea The three sites lie within the wet equatorial climaticzone in Ghana which has mean annual rainfall ranging between1400mm ndash 2000mm
12 Data collectionPrimary data was collected through field investigations andface-to-face interviews with relevant resource persons Sec-ondary data were obtained from academic journals technicalpublications and internet sources Data on existing leachateand surfacewater management infrastructure was obtained bymeans of a walkover surveys at the various waste disposalsites A hand held GPS was used to obtain the geographiccoordinates of various sites Interviews were conducted withthe municipal environmental health and planning officers atthe various municipal assemblies Information on day-to-daywaste disposal site activities was obtained from officials of theZoomlion Ltd a local firm which is responsible for landfill siteoperations in Ghana Discussions were held with either scav-engers or residents living close to these disposal sites on issuesregarding the nature frequency and impacts of leachate flowsAn extensive review of literature on all the study sites withrespect to the regional and site specific hydrologic geologicalseismic characteristics was also done
13 GIS-based spatial analysisThe Map Window GIS software was used to process the GPSdata obtained during the walkover surveys MapWindow GISis an extensible open source geographic information systemdeveloped by the Idaho State University Geospatial Software(httpwwwmapwindoworg) This software hasmap querying features which allow the user to calculate areasand distances between user-defined points on a map The geo-processing tasks involved importing the GPS survey pointsinto base maps in order to determine buffer distances fromwater bodies areas of high groundwater level and ecologicaland cultural heritage sites
14 Water balance analysisThe Thornthwaite water-balance computer program was usedto conduct a water balance analysis for the various waste dis-posal sites This computer program which was developed bythe US Geological Survey [7] analyses the allocation of wateramong various components of the hydrologic system using amonthly accounting procedure This procedure for estimatinglandfill water balance provides a faster method for analysiscompared to the HELP Model due to its minimal site specificinput data requirements [3 8] The required input data in-cludes monthly precipitation and temperature values runoff
Figure 1 Location map of the study sites
factor direct runoff factor soil-moisture storage capacity lati-tude of location rain temperature threshold snow temperaturethreshold and maximum snow-melt rate Table 1 and Table 2show the mean monthly rainfall and temperature values respec-tively for the various locations [9 10] The output simulationresults include the actual evapotranspiration potential evapo-transpiration direct runoff runoff soil moisture storage andpercolation
Table 1 Mean monthly rainfall at waste disposal sites
Water balance simulations were done for four differentsoil types namely sandy loam silty loam clay loam and clayThe soil moisture storage capacities for the various soil typeswhich are shown in Table 3 were computed by multiplyingan assumed landfill cover depth of 600 mm with the avail-able water which is the difference between the field capacityand wilting point The theoretical basis for the determinationof leachate quantities using the Thornthwaite water balanceanalysis method is outlined in [11] Water which is beingrouted through a waste disposal site basically consists of twophases routing through the soil cover and routing throughthe compacted solid waste beneath This research study only
Evaluation of landfill leachate management systems in Ghana mdash 1518
Table 2 Mean monthly temperatures at waste disposal sites
Table 3 Mean monthly temperatures at waste disposal sites
Soil Type Moisture Storage Capacity (mm)
Sandy Loam 90Silty Loam 120Clay Loam 150Clay 180
considered routing through the soil cover due to the lack ofinformation on the depth of the various dumpsites
2 Results21 Current operational statusThe three dumpsites are operational and receive solid wastefrom the respective municipal area capitals All the sites canbe categorized as open dumps The Axim dumpsite shown inFigure 2 is located on the rightndashof-way of a major gas pipelinewhich is being constructed in the Western Region The Mfoumdumpsite shown in Figure 3 is located on the rightndashof-way ofthe Ghana Grid Company high voltage transmission towersThe Bompieso dumpsite shown in Figure 4 does not have anyconflicting land use issues
22 Existing leachate management systemsWalkover surveys that were conducted at the Axim Bomp-ieso and Mfoum dumpsites showed that there were no existingleachate management-related site infrastructure and routine ac-tivities that are intended to reduce the generation emission andenvironmental monitoring of leachate at any of these dump-sites
Figure 2 Current conditions at the Axim dumpsite
Figure 3 Current conditions at the Mfoum dumpsite
Figure 4 Current conditions at the Bompieso dumpsite
23 Environmental risks and hazardsSoil contamination groundwater and vadose zone pollution atthe site were categorised as high due to the absence of landfillliners Results from geoprocessing of the GPS data indicatethat all the dumpsites are located within the catchment of thePra and Ankobra river basins The buffer distances from thedumpsites to any of the tributaries of these two river basins asshown in Figure 5 are greater than 1 kilometre Consequentlysurfacewater pollution risks from the various dumpsites areclassified as low However leachate flows from these dumpsitescould still pose a risk to domestic animals and livestock whodrink contaminated water originating from dumpsite runoffHuman health risk are classified as high for settlements closeto the dumpsite as a result of direct exposure to soils contam-inated with leachate inhalation of soil contaminants whichhave vaporised or consumption of potable water from leachatecontaminated abstraction wells The three dumpsites were alsoobserved to have adequate buffer distance from sensitive eco-logical sites which are indicated as brown coloured polygonsshown in Figure 6 This would seem to suggest that wastedisposal activities at these sites would not pose a direct threat
Evaluation of landfill leachate management systems in Ghana mdash 1618
to life and property there
24 Water balance analysis resultsTable 6 Table 7 and Table 8 presents the water balance anal-ysis results for the Axim Bompieso and Mfoum dumpsitesrespectively The highest runoff estimates were obtained forthe sandy loam cover soil whereas the highest evapotranspi-ration estimates were obtained for clay Table 7 Table 8 andTable 9 show the monthly and seasonal variation of percola-tion for the different soil covers at the Axim Bompieso andMfoum sites respectively These observations seem to suggestthat peak leachate flows are to be expected in June and Octoberwhich are the peak rainfall months in the major and minorrainy seasons respectively
Table 4 Annual water balance estimates for Axim dumpsite
Leachate management at Bompieso DumpsiteThe Bompieso dumpsite serves the Tarkwa township which hasan estimated population of about 35000 inhabitants For sucha small urban area the Ghana Landfill Guidelines [12] recom-mends the provision of at least an improved manual dumpsiteThis site in its current state can still be used for a couple moreyears before it gets filled up It is therefore necessary that it is
Evaluation of landfill leachate management systems in Ghana mdash 1718
upgraded from an open dump to an improved manual dumpsiteas stipulated in the technical guideline The basic leachatemanagement system that is prescribed for an improved manualdumpsite is the provision of a perimeter channels to collect andallow for infiltration of leachate into the ground media TheBompieso dumpsite has adequate space for the construction ofperimeter channels to intercept flows These channels wouldtypically be gravel-filled [1]
Leachate management at Axim and Mfoum dump-sitesThe Axim and Mfoum dumpsites have a limited site lives byvirtue of their peculiar conflicting land use issues It maytherefore not be justified in economic terms to construct newengineered systems However leachate management shouldbe one of the major priorities as part of a remediation and clo-sure plan for both facilities This is imperative because closeddumps may continue to pose environmental risks if adequatemeasures are put in place [5 13] The main leachate manage-ment system that must be provided as part of the closure planis the placement of a final cover [1] The final cover wouldtypically have a thickness of between 400 ndash 600 mm Theregional soil groups in the Axim amd Mfoum dumpsites areoxisols and oxisols-ultisols respectively [14 15] The oxisolshave a significant content of clay and as such may be suitablefor use as a final cover as demonstrated in the water balancesimulations This may however not be the case for the oxisol-ultisol soil group in the Dunkwa area which contains a muchlower content of clay
Table 8 Monthly and seasonal variation of percolation forthe Bompieso dumpsite(measurements in mm)
4 ConclusionThis paper has presented an evaluation of leachate manage-ment systems at three waste disposal sites in the wet equatorialclimatic zone of Ghana None of the waste disposal sites hadany active or passive leachate management systems It wasalso observed during walkover surveys and through computersimulations that the highest leachate flows occur during themonths of June and October Groundwater pollution vadozezone pollution soil contamination and human health risks atall the three locations were characterised as high However sur-facewater pollution risks were considered as low due the factthat there is adequate buffer distance from the Pra and Ankobrarivers to each of these dumpsitesThe Bompieso dumpsite atTarkwa would have to be provided with gravel filled channelsin order to minimise the effects of leachate generation TheAxim amd Mfoum dumpsites have to be closed down as soonas practical and provided with a final soil cover Recommen-dations for further study include a quantitative assessment ofsoil contamination and ground water pollution in Tarkwa byconducting laboratory testing of field samples
AcknowledgmentsThe author would like to express their gratitude to the KspyxLtdWastePro Software for use of their computer facilities
References[1] RUSHBROOK P and PUGH M (1999)Solid waste land-
fills in low and middle income countries A technical guideto planning design and operation World Bank TechnicalPublication 426 World Bank
[2] IRELAND EPA (2000) Landfill site design Ireland En-vironmental Protection Agency httpwwwepaie[Accessed 7t h July 2012]
Evaluation of landfill leachate management systems in Ghana mdash 1818
[3] WSDOE (1987)Solid Waste Landfill Design ManualWashington State Department of Ecology PublicationNo 87-13 httpwwwaccesswagov [Accessed12t h July 2012]
[4] DENUTSUI D ET AL (2012) Leachate characteriza-tion and assessment of unsaturated zone pollution nearmunicipal solid waste landfill site at Oblogo Accra-GhanaResearch Journal of Environmental and Earth Sciences4(1) 134-141
[5] OSEI J ET AL ( 2011) The impact of Oblogo landfill sitein Accra-Ghana on the surrounding environment ResearchJournal of Environmental and Earth Sciences 3(6)633-636633-636
[6] ESSUMANG DK ET AL (2009) Source assessment andanalysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAHrsquos) at theOblogo waste disposal sites and some water bodies in andaround the Accra Metropolis of GhanaJournal of WaterResource and Protection (1)456- 468
[7] MCCABE GJand MARKSTROM SL(2007) Amonthly water-balance model driven by a graphical userinterface US Geological Survey Open-File Report 2007-1008
[8] SCHROEDER P ET AL (1994) The Hydrologic Eval-uation of Landfill Performance (HELP) engineering doc-umentation for version 3 EPA600R-64168b US Envi-ronmental Protection Agency Risk Reduction LaboratoryCincinnati Ohio
[9] GHANA HYDRO-DATABASE (2014a) Central RegionClimate Fact Sheet No CLM-FF-CNRhttpwwwghanahydrodatacom [Accessed 5th January 2014]
[10] GHANA HYDRO-DATABASE (2014b) Western RegionClimate Fact Sheet No CLM-FF-WR httpwwwghanahydrodatacom [Accessed 5th January 2014]
[11] FENN DG ET AL (1975)Use of water balance methodfor predicting leachate generation from waste disposal sitesUnited States Environmental Protection Agency ReportNo EPA530SW-168 httpnepisepagov [Ac-cessed 5th July 2012]
[13] USEPA (1988)Case studies on ground water and surfacewater contamination from municipal solid waste landfillsUnited States Environmental Protection Agency Officeof Solid Waste Report No EPA530SW-88-040 httpnepisepagov [Accessed 6th July 2012]
[14] OBENG H (2000) Soil classification in Ghana SelectedEconomic Issues No 3 Centre for Policy Analysis AccraGhana
[15] USDA (1999) Soil Taxonomy A Basic System of SoilClassification for Making and Interpreting Soil Surveys2nd Edition Agriculture Handbook No 436 United States
Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conserva-tion Service Washington DC
Introduction
Materials and Methods
Description of Study Sites
Data collection
GIS-based spatial analysis
Water balance analysis
Results
Current operational status
Existing leachate management systems
Environmental risks and hazards
Water balance analysis results
Discussions
Conclusion
Acknowledgments
References
Evaluation of landfill leachate management systems in Ghana mdash 1518
Table 2 Mean monthly temperatures at waste disposal sites
Table 3 Mean monthly temperatures at waste disposal sites
Soil Type Moisture Storage Capacity (mm)
Sandy Loam 90Silty Loam 120Clay Loam 150Clay 180
considered routing through the soil cover due to the lack ofinformation on the depth of the various dumpsites
2 Results21 Current operational statusThe three dumpsites are operational and receive solid wastefrom the respective municipal area capitals All the sites canbe categorized as open dumps The Axim dumpsite shown inFigure 2 is located on the rightndashof-way of a major gas pipelinewhich is being constructed in the Western Region The Mfoumdumpsite shown in Figure 3 is located on the rightndashof-way ofthe Ghana Grid Company high voltage transmission towersThe Bompieso dumpsite shown in Figure 4 does not have anyconflicting land use issues
22 Existing leachate management systemsWalkover surveys that were conducted at the Axim Bomp-ieso and Mfoum dumpsites showed that there were no existingleachate management-related site infrastructure and routine ac-tivities that are intended to reduce the generation emission andenvironmental monitoring of leachate at any of these dump-sites
Figure 2 Current conditions at the Axim dumpsite
Figure 3 Current conditions at the Mfoum dumpsite
Figure 4 Current conditions at the Bompieso dumpsite
23 Environmental risks and hazardsSoil contamination groundwater and vadose zone pollution atthe site were categorised as high due to the absence of landfillliners Results from geoprocessing of the GPS data indicatethat all the dumpsites are located within the catchment of thePra and Ankobra river basins The buffer distances from thedumpsites to any of the tributaries of these two river basins asshown in Figure 5 are greater than 1 kilometre Consequentlysurfacewater pollution risks from the various dumpsites areclassified as low However leachate flows from these dumpsitescould still pose a risk to domestic animals and livestock whodrink contaminated water originating from dumpsite runoffHuman health risk are classified as high for settlements closeto the dumpsite as a result of direct exposure to soils contam-inated with leachate inhalation of soil contaminants whichhave vaporised or consumption of potable water from leachatecontaminated abstraction wells The three dumpsites were alsoobserved to have adequate buffer distance from sensitive eco-logical sites which are indicated as brown coloured polygonsshown in Figure 6 This would seem to suggest that wastedisposal activities at these sites would not pose a direct threat
Evaluation of landfill leachate management systems in Ghana mdash 1618
to life and property there
24 Water balance analysis resultsTable 6 Table 7 and Table 8 presents the water balance anal-ysis results for the Axim Bompieso and Mfoum dumpsitesrespectively The highest runoff estimates were obtained forthe sandy loam cover soil whereas the highest evapotranspi-ration estimates were obtained for clay Table 7 Table 8 andTable 9 show the monthly and seasonal variation of percola-tion for the different soil covers at the Axim Bompieso andMfoum sites respectively These observations seem to suggestthat peak leachate flows are to be expected in June and Octoberwhich are the peak rainfall months in the major and minorrainy seasons respectively
Table 4 Annual water balance estimates for Axim dumpsite
Leachate management at Bompieso DumpsiteThe Bompieso dumpsite serves the Tarkwa township which hasan estimated population of about 35000 inhabitants For sucha small urban area the Ghana Landfill Guidelines [12] recom-mends the provision of at least an improved manual dumpsiteThis site in its current state can still be used for a couple moreyears before it gets filled up It is therefore necessary that it is
Evaluation of landfill leachate management systems in Ghana mdash 1718
upgraded from an open dump to an improved manual dumpsiteas stipulated in the technical guideline The basic leachatemanagement system that is prescribed for an improved manualdumpsite is the provision of a perimeter channels to collect andallow for infiltration of leachate into the ground media TheBompieso dumpsite has adequate space for the construction ofperimeter channels to intercept flows These channels wouldtypically be gravel-filled [1]
Leachate management at Axim and Mfoum dump-sitesThe Axim and Mfoum dumpsites have a limited site lives byvirtue of their peculiar conflicting land use issues It maytherefore not be justified in economic terms to construct newengineered systems However leachate management shouldbe one of the major priorities as part of a remediation and clo-sure plan for both facilities This is imperative because closeddumps may continue to pose environmental risks if adequatemeasures are put in place [5 13] The main leachate manage-ment system that must be provided as part of the closure planis the placement of a final cover [1] The final cover wouldtypically have a thickness of between 400 ndash 600 mm Theregional soil groups in the Axim amd Mfoum dumpsites areoxisols and oxisols-ultisols respectively [14 15] The oxisolshave a significant content of clay and as such may be suitablefor use as a final cover as demonstrated in the water balancesimulations This may however not be the case for the oxisol-ultisol soil group in the Dunkwa area which contains a muchlower content of clay
Table 8 Monthly and seasonal variation of percolation forthe Bompieso dumpsite(measurements in mm)
4 ConclusionThis paper has presented an evaluation of leachate manage-ment systems at three waste disposal sites in the wet equatorialclimatic zone of Ghana None of the waste disposal sites hadany active or passive leachate management systems It wasalso observed during walkover surveys and through computersimulations that the highest leachate flows occur during themonths of June and October Groundwater pollution vadozezone pollution soil contamination and human health risks atall the three locations were characterised as high However sur-facewater pollution risks were considered as low due the factthat there is adequate buffer distance from the Pra and Ankobrarivers to each of these dumpsitesThe Bompieso dumpsite atTarkwa would have to be provided with gravel filled channelsin order to minimise the effects of leachate generation TheAxim amd Mfoum dumpsites have to be closed down as soonas practical and provided with a final soil cover Recommen-dations for further study include a quantitative assessment ofsoil contamination and ground water pollution in Tarkwa byconducting laboratory testing of field samples
AcknowledgmentsThe author would like to express their gratitude to the KspyxLtdWastePro Software for use of their computer facilities
References[1] RUSHBROOK P and PUGH M (1999)Solid waste land-
fills in low and middle income countries A technical guideto planning design and operation World Bank TechnicalPublication 426 World Bank
[2] IRELAND EPA (2000) Landfill site design Ireland En-vironmental Protection Agency httpwwwepaie[Accessed 7t h July 2012]
Evaluation of landfill leachate management systems in Ghana mdash 1818
[3] WSDOE (1987)Solid Waste Landfill Design ManualWashington State Department of Ecology PublicationNo 87-13 httpwwwaccesswagov [Accessed12t h July 2012]
[4] DENUTSUI D ET AL (2012) Leachate characteriza-tion and assessment of unsaturated zone pollution nearmunicipal solid waste landfill site at Oblogo Accra-GhanaResearch Journal of Environmental and Earth Sciences4(1) 134-141
[5] OSEI J ET AL ( 2011) The impact of Oblogo landfill sitein Accra-Ghana on the surrounding environment ResearchJournal of Environmental and Earth Sciences 3(6)633-636633-636
[6] ESSUMANG DK ET AL (2009) Source assessment andanalysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAHrsquos) at theOblogo waste disposal sites and some water bodies in andaround the Accra Metropolis of GhanaJournal of WaterResource and Protection (1)456- 468
[7] MCCABE GJand MARKSTROM SL(2007) Amonthly water-balance model driven by a graphical userinterface US Geological Survey Open-File Report 2007-1008
[8] SCHROEDER P ET AL (1994) The Hydrologic Eval-uation of Landfill Performance (HELP) engineering doc-umentation for version 3 EPA600R-64168b US Envi-ronmental Protection Agency Risk Reduction LaboratoryCincinnati Ohio
[9] GHANA HYDRO-DATABASE (2014a) Central RegionClimate Fact Sheet No CLM-FF-CNRhttpwwwghanahydrodatacom [Accessed 5th January 2014]
[10] GHANA HYDRO-DATABASE (2014b) Western RegionClimate Fact Sheet No CLM-FF-WR httpwwwghanahydrodatacom [Accessed 5th January 2014]
[11] FENN DG ET AL (1975)Use of water balance methodfor predicting leachate generation from waste disposal sitesUnited States Environmental Protection Agency ReportNo EPA530SW-168 httpnepisepagov [Ac-cessed 5th July 2012]
[13] USEPA (1988)Case studies on ground water and surfacewater contamination from municipal solid waste landfillsUnited States Environmental Protection Agency Officeof Solid Waste Report No EPA530SW-88-040 httpnepisepagov [Accessed 6th July 2012]
[14] OBENG H (2000) Soil classification in Ghana SelectedEconomic Issues No 3 Centre for Policy Analysis AccraGhana
[15] USDA (1999) Soil Taxonomy A Basic System of SoilClassification for Making and Interpreting Soil Surveys2nd Edition Agriculture Handbook No 436 United States
Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conserva-tion Service Washington DC
Introduction
Materials and Methods
Description of Study Sites
Data collection
GIS-based spatial analysis
Water balance analysis
Results
Current operational status
Existing leachate management systems
Environmental risks and hazards
Water balance analysis results
Discussions
Conclusion
Acknowledgments
References
Evaluation of landfill leachate management systems in Ghana mdash 1618
to life and property there
24 Water balance analysis resultsTable 6 Table 7 and Table 8 presents the water balance anal-ysis results for the Axim Bompieso and Mfoum dumpsitesrespectively The highest runoff estimates were obtained forthe sandy loam cover soil whereas the highest evapotranspi-ration estimates were obtained for clay Table 7 Table 8 andTable 9 show the monthly and seasonal variation of percola-tion for the different soil covers at the Axim Bompieso andMfoum sites respectively These observations seem to suggestthat peak leachate flows are to be expected in June and Octoberwhich are the peak rainfall months in the major and minorrainy seasons respectively
Table 4 Annual water balance estimates for Axim dumpsite
Leachate management at Bompieso DumpsiteThe Bompieso dumpsite serves the Tarkwa township which hasan estimated population of about 35000 inhabitants For sucha small urban area the Ghana Landfill Guidelines [12] recom-mends the provision of at least an improved manual dumpsiteThis site in its current state can still be used for a couple moreyears before it gets filled up It is therefore necessary that it is
Evaluation of landfill leachate management systems in Ghana mdash 1718
upgraded from an open dump to an improved manual dumpsiteas stipulated in the technical guideline The basic leachatemanagement system that is prescribed for an improved manualdumpsite is the provision of a perimeter channels to collect andallow for infiltration of leachate into the ground media TheBompieso dumpsite has adequate space for the construction ofperimeter channels to intercept flows These channels wouldtypically be gravel-filled [1]
Leachate management at Axim and Mfoum dump-sitesThe Axim and Mfoum dumpsites have a limited site lives byvirtue of their peculiar conflicting land use issues It maytherefore not be justified in economic terms to construct newengineered systems However leachate management shouldbe one of the major priorities as part of a remediation and clo-sure plan for both facilities This is imperative because closeddumps may continue to pose environmental risks if adequatemeasures are put in place [5 13] The main leachate manage-ment system that must be provided as part of the closure planis the placement of a final cover [1] The final cover wouldtypically have a thickness of between 400 ndash 600 mm Theregional soil groups in the Axim amd Mfoum dumpsites areoxisols and oxisols-ultisols respectively [14 15] The oxisolshave a significant content of clay and as such may be suitablefor use as a final cover as demonstrated in the water balancesimulations This may however not be the case for the oxisol-ultisol soil group in the Dunkwa area which contains a muchlower content of clay
Table 8 Monthly and seasonal variation of percolation forthe Bompieso dumpsite(measurements in mm)
4 ConclusionThis paper has presented an evaluation of leachate manage-ment systems at three waste disposal sites in the wet equatorialclimatic zone of Ghana None of the waste disposal sites hadany active or passive leachate management systems It wasalso observed during walkover surveys and through computersimulations that the highest leachate flows occur during themonths of June and October Groundwater pollution vadozezone pollution soil contamination and human health risks atall the three locations were characterised as high However sur-facewater pollution risks were considered as low due the factthat there is adequate buffer distance from the Pra and Ankobrarivers to each of these dumpsitesThe Bompieso dumpsite atTarkwa would have to be provided with gravel filled channelsin order to minimise the effects of leachate generation TheAxim amd Mfoum dumpsites have to be closed down as soonas practical and provided with a final soil cover Recommen-dations for further study include a quantitative assessment ofsoil contamination and ground water pollution in Tarkwa byconducting laboratory testing of field samples
AcknowledgmentsThe author would like to express their gratitude to the KspyxLtdWastePro Software for use of their computer facilities
References[1] RUSHBROOK P and PUGH M (1999)Solid waste land-
fills in low and middle income countries A technical guideto planning design and operation World Bank TechnicalPublication 426 World Bank
[2] IRELAND EPA (2000) Landfill site design Ireland En-vironmental Protection Agency httpwwwepaie[Accessed 7t h July 2012]
Evaluation of landfill leachate management systems in Ghana mdash 1818
[3] WSDOE (1987)Solid Waste Landfill Design ManualWashington State Department of Ecology PublicationNo 87-13 httpwwwaccesswagov [Accessed12t h July 2012]
[4] DENUTSUI D ET AL (2012) Leachate characteriza-tion and assessment of unsaturated zone pollution nearmunicipal solid waste landfill site at Oblogo Accra-GhanaResearch Journal of Environmental and Earth Sciences4(1) 134-141
[5] OSEI J ET AL ( 2011) The impact of Oblogo landfill sitein Accra-Ghana on the surrounding environment ResearchJournal of Environmental and Earth Sciences 3(6)633-636633-636
[6] ESSUMANG DK ET AL (2009) Source assessment andanalysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAHrsquos) at theOblogo waste disposal sites and some water bodies in andaround the Accra Metropolis of GhanaJournal of WaterResource and Protection (1)456- 468
[7] MCCABE GJand MARKSTROM SL(2007) Amonthly water-balance model driven by a graphical userinterface US Geological Survey Open-File Report 2007-1008
[8] SCHROEDER P ET AL (1994) The Hydrologic Eval-uation of Landfill Performance (HELP) engineering doc-umentation for version 3 EPA600R-64168b US Envi-ronmental Protection Agency Risk Reduction LaboratoryCincinnati Ohio
[9] GHANA HYDRO-DATABASE (2014a) Central RegionClimate Fact Sheet No CLM-FF-CNRhttpwwwghanahydrodatacom [Accessed 5th January 2014]
[10] GHANA HYDRO-DATABASE (2014b) Western RegionClimate Fact Sheet No CLM-FF-WR httpwwwghanahydrodatacom [Accessed 5th January 2014]
[11] FENN DG ET AL (1975)Use of water balance methodfor predicting leachate generation from waste disposal sitesUnited States Environmental Protection Agency ReportNo EPA530SW-168 httpnepisepagov [Ac-cessed 5th July 2012]
[13] USEPA (1988)Case studies on ground water and surfacewater contamination from municipal solid waste landfillsUnited States Environmental Protection Agency Officeof Solid Waste Report No EPA530SW-88-040 httpnepisepagov [Accessed 6th July 2012]
[14] OBENG H (2000) Soil classification in Ghana SelectedEconomic Issues No 3 Centre for Policy Analysis AccraGhana
[15] USDA (1999) Soil Taxonomy A Basic System of SoilClassification for Making and Interpreting Soil Surveys2nd Edition Agriculture Handbook No 436 United States
Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conserva-tion Service Washington DC
Introduction
Materials and Methods
Description of Study Sites
Data collection
GIS-based spatial analysis
Water balance analysis
Results
Current operational status
Existing leachate management systems
Environmental risks and hazards
Water balance analysis results
Discussions
Conclusion
Acknowledgments
References
Evaluation of landfill leachate management systems in Ghana mdash 1718
upgraded from an open dump to an improved manual dumpsiteas stipulated in the technical guideline The basic leachatemanagement system that is prescribed for an improved manualdumpsite is the provision of a perimeter channels to collect andallow for infiltration of leachate into the ground media TheBompieso dumpsite has adequate space for the construction ofperimeter channels to intercept flows These channels wouldtypically be gravel-filled [1]
Leachate management at Axim and Mfoum dump-sitesThe Axim and Mfoum dumpsites have a limited site lives byvirtue of their peculiar conflicting land use issues It maytherefore not be justified in economic terms to construct newengineered systems However leachate management shouldbe one of the major priorities as part of a remediation and clo-sure plan for both facilities This is imperative because closeddumps may continue to pose environmental risks if adequatemeasures are put in place [5 13] The main leachate manage-ment system that must be provided as part of the closure planis the placement of a final cover [1] The final cover wouldtypically have a thickness of between 400 ndash 600 mm Theregional soil groups in the Axim amd Mfoum dumpsites areoxisols and oxisols-ultisols respectively [14 15] The oxisolshave a significant content of clay and as such may be suitablefor use as a final cover as demonstrated in the water balancesimulations This may however not be the case for the oxisol-ultisol soil group in the Dunkwa area which contains a muchlower content of clay
Table 8 Monthly and seasonal variation of percolation forthe Bompieso dumpsite(measurements in mm)
4 ConclusionThis paper has presented an evaluation of leachate manage-ment systems at three waste disposal sites in the wet equatorialclimatic zone of Ghana None of the waste disposal sites hadany active or passive leachate management systems It wasalso observed during walkover surveys and through computersimulations that the highest leachate flows occur during themonths of June and October Groundwater pollution vadozezone pollution soil contamination and human health risks atall the three locations were characterised as high However sur-facewater pollution risks were considered as low due the factthat there is adequate buffer distance from the Pra and Ankobrarivers to each of these dumpsitesThe Bompieso dumpsite atTarkwa would have to be provided with gravel filled channelsin order to minimise the effects of leachate generation TheAxim amd Mfoum dumpsites have to be closed down as soonas practical and provided with a final soil cover Recommen-dations for further study include a quantitative assessment ofsoil contamination and ground water pollution in Tarkwa byconducting laboratory testing of field samples
AcknowledgmentsThe author would like to express their gratitude to the KspyxLtdWastePro Software for use of their computer facilities
References[1] RUSHBROOK P and PUGH M (1999)Solid waste land-
fills in low and middle income countries A technical guideto planning design and operation World Bank TechnicalPublication 426 World Bank
[2] IRELAND EPA (2000) Landfill site design Ireland En-vironmental Protection Agency httpwwwepaie[Accessed 7t h July 2012]
Evaluation of landfill leachate management systems in Ghana mdash 1818
[3] WSDOE (1987)Solid Waste Landfill Design ManualWashington State Department of Ecology PublicationNo 87-13 httpwwwaccesswagov [Accessed12t h July 2012]
[4] DENUTSUI D ET AL (2012) Leachate characteriza-tion and assessment of unsaturated zone pollution nearmunicipal solid waste landfill site at Oblogo Accra-GhanaResearch Journal of Environmental and Earth Sciences4(1) 134-141
[5] OSEI J ET AL ( 2011) The impact of Oblogo landfill sitein Accra-Ghana on the surrounding environment ResearchJournal of Environmental and Earth Sciences 3(6)633-636633-636
[6] ESSUMANG DK ET AL (2009) Source assessment andanalysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAHrsquos) at theOblogo waste disposal sites and some water bodies in andaround the Accra Metropolis of GhanaJournal of WaterResource and Protection (1)456- 468
[7] MCCABE GJand MARKSTROM SL(2007) Amonthly water-balance model driven by a graphical userinterface US Geological Survey Open-File Report 2007-1008
[8] SCHROEDER P ET AL (1994) The Hydrologic Eval-uation of Landfill Performance (HELP) engineering doc-umentation for version 3 EPA600R-64168b US Envi-ronmental Protection Agency Risk Reduction LaboratoryCincinnati Ohio
[9] GHANA HYDRO-DATABASE (2014a) Central RegionClimate Fact Sheet No CLM-FF-CNRhttpwwwghanahydrodatacom [Accessed 5th January 2014]
[10] GHANA HYDRO-DATABASE (2014b) Western RegionClimate Fact Sheet No CLM-FF-WR httpwwwghanahydrodatacom [Accessed 5th January 2014]
[11] FENN DG ET AL (1975)Use of water balance methodfor predicting leachate generation from waste disposal sitesUnited States Environmental Protection Agency ReportNo EPA530SW-168 httpnepisepagov [Ac-cessed 5th July 2012]
[13] USEPA (1988)Case studies on ground water and surfacewater contamination from municipal solid waste landfillsUnited States Environmental Protection Agency Officeof Solid Waste Report No EPA530SW-88-040 httpnepisepagov [Accessed 6th July 2012]
[14] OBENG H (2000) Soil classification in Ghana SelectedEconomic Issues No 3 Centre for Policy Analysis AccraGhana
[15] USDA (1999) Soil Taxonomy A Basic System of SoilClassification for Making and Interpreting Soil Surveys2nd Edition Agriculture Handbook No 436 United States
Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conserva-tion Service Washington DC
Introduction
Materials and Methods
Description of Study Sites
Data collection
GIS-based spatial analysis
Water balance analysis
Results
Current operational status
Existing leachate management systems
Environmental risks and hazards
Water balance analysis results
Discussions
Conclusion
Acknowledgments
References
Evaluation of landfill leachate management systems in Ghana mdash 1818
[3] WSDOE (1987)Solid Waste Landfill Design ManualWashington State Department of Ecology PublicationNo 87-13 httpwwwaccesswagov [Accessed12t h July 2012]
[4] DENUTSUI D ET AL (2012) Leachate characteriza-tion and assessment of unsaturated zone pollution nearmunicipal solid waste landfill site at Oblogo Accra-GhanaResearch Journal of Environmental and Earth Sciences4(1) 134-141
[5] OSEI J ET AL ( 2011) The impact of Oblogo landfill sitein Accra-Ghana on the surrounding environment ResearchJournal of Environmental and Earth Sciences 3(6)633-636633-636
[6] ESSUMANG DK ET AL (2009) Source assessment andanalysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAHrsquos) at theOblogo waste disposal sites and some water bodies in andaround the Accra Metropolis of GhanaJournal of WaterResource and Protection (1)456- 468
[7] MCCABE GJand MARKSTROM SL(2007) Amonthly water-balance model driven by a graphical userinterface US Geological Survey Open-File Report 2007-1008
[8] SCHROEDER P ET AL (1994) The Hydrologic Eval-uation of Landfill Performance (HELP) engineering doc-umentation for version 3 EPA600R-64168b US Envi-ronmental Protection Agency Risk Reduction LaboratoryCincinnati Ohio
[9] GHANA HYDRO-DATABASE (2014a) Central RegionClimate Fact Sheet No CLM-FF-CNRhttpwwwghanahydrodatacom [Accessed 5th January 2014]
[10] GHANA HYDRO-DATABASE (2014b) Western RegionClimate Fact Sheet No CLM-FF-WR httpwwwghanahydrodatacom [Accessed 5th January 2014]
[11] FENN DG ET AL (1975)Use of water balance methodfor predicting leachate generation from waste disposal sitesUnited States Environmental Protection Agency ReportNo EPA530SW-168 httpnepisepagov [Ac-cessed 5th July 2012]
[13] USEPA (1988)Case studies on ground water and surfacewater contamination from municipal solid waste landfillsUnited States Environmental Protection Agency Officeof Solid Waste Report No EPA530SW-88-040 httpnepisepagov [Accessed 6th July 2012]
[14] OBENG H (2000) Soil classification in Ghana SelectedEconomic Issues No 3 Centre for Policy Analysis AccraGhana
[15] USDA (1999) Soil Taxonomy A Basic System of SoilClassification for Making and Interpreting Soil Surveys2nd Edition Agriculture Handbook No 436 United States
Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conserva-tion Service Washington DC