The hydrological evaluation of Rasht Landfill performance

Nowadays, the pollution generated from municipal waste disposal sites is considered as one of the serious threats for environment and underground water resources. In the present study, Rasht Landfill is assessed as one of the contamination sources in the northern part of Iran. Located in Saravan region, the Landfill is the only land disposal site located in 20 kilometers south of Rasht and is situated at altitude of 200 meters from sea level. In order to determine the structural characteristics, the geological maps of the study area and data from 4 geo electrical sounding around the landfill site been used. Using 4 samples of sediments from places where the geo electrical sounding was implemented, the sedimentological analysis was carried out by graining these samples. The results indicate that the sediment thickness and depth of bed rock surface is very low. In this study, Visual HELP software was used to determine the leachate generation rate. The hydrological evaluation of Rasht Landfill performance followed for two periods of 15 and 50 years, regarding the climate information of Rasht station as the nearest synoptic station to waste disposal site and structural features of this site. Based on the considerations, the amount of leachate generation and leaking from the Landfill determined equal to 0.6 m per year.