Groundwater Contamination From Non-Sanitary Landfill Sites – A Case Study on The Ghazipur Landfill Site, Delhi (India)

Abstract

The presence of dumping grounds in highly urbanized environment directly results into health hazards for the people residing in the surrounding areas. In the past years, these open dumps have become a threat to the local hydrogeology. Groundwater contamination is one of the major problems associated with these open dumps. The Ghazipur landfill site is also a nonsanitary dumpsite site located in the eastern part of Delhi, India. The site is surrounded by densely populated residences and some of Delhi’s largest commercial raw food supply chains for dairy & poultry products, fish & meat supplies, fruit & vegetable items, etc. It is a matter of fact from various studies that penetration of the leachate in to the sub-soil strata at Ghazipur is taking place for a considerable time period. At the same time, the lack of infrastructure for basic facilities like drinking water has increased the dependency of the nearby inhabitants on the ground water leading to a high health risk. Considering the fact of a high yield potential of the area and dependency of a large number of inhabitants on groundwater resources, there is a need to map the leachate contamination by carrying out hydrogeological investigations coupled with chemical analysis to identify the locations and suitable depths for tapping the safe groundwater supplies. However, in a broad manner, the present site cannot be considered suitable for dumping of solid waste.