Risk assessment of water resources to pollution caused by landfill’s Yasouj

The most important cause of water pollution near the landfill is leachate which poses health and environmental hazards to humans and animals by entering surface and groundwater. The aim of this study was to evaluate the probable contamination of surface and groundwater resources around the landfill of Yasouj city over a period of 12 months. For this purpose, after explaining the morphology and field surveying of the area, drinking water wells, east and west stream of landfill, Shah-Qasem dam reservoir and two springs (Sarabtaveh and Parikadan) were sampled monthly for one year. Samples for measuring hydrochemical properties include turbidity, pH, electrical conductivity, cations (sodium, magnesium, potassium, calcium), anions (chlorine, bicarbonate, sulfate, nitrate, phosphate), heavy metals (arsenic, iron, copper, zinc, mercury, chromium, cadmium, nickel, lead), dissolved oxygen, BOD and TDS and its comparison with the limits allowed in the National Drinking Water Standard of Iran and the World Health Organization were transferred to the laboratory. The results showed that despite the desirability of many physicochemical properties of pumping drinking water from the karst aquifer of the Tangeh-Kenarah, some very dangerous properties of wells have been more than allowed during several months of the year. The results of analysis of surface water sources also showed that leachate from waste from Yasouj landfill had a significant effect on the flow of water in the landfill route, so that the amounts of phosphate, iron, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, BOD, arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury in the surface water flow in the stream of the landfill route, in some months and sometimes the whole year, have been more than allowed. Also, the results of the spring water samples analysis showed that Sarabtaveh spring was more than the allowable in cadmium, lead and mercury pollution in the rainy months, and the amount of lead and mercury in the Perikdan spring also increased during the rainy season. In general, surface and groundwater resources around the landfill of Yasouj city are affected by leachate, so that it is more intense in the rainy season. Therefore, this place needs special management that should be applied as soon as possible to prevent pollution of water resources.