Effect of Landfill Leachate on the Stream water Quality

Document Type : Original Research Paper

Authors

1 Department of Microbiology, Hazara University Mansehra, Pakistan

2 Department of Environmental Sciences, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology Abbottabad, Pakistan

Abstract

The influence of leachate from open solid waste dumping near Salhad stream (Abbottabad,
Pakistan) was investigated to quantify the variations of water quality during August 2007 to April 2008.
Samples were collected from five different sites located along the Salhad stream. Two sites were located before
the mixing of solid waste leachate with the surface water. One sampling site was of leachate and other two
sampling sites were affected with solid waste leachate. Samples were analyzed for various physical and
chemical parameters like pH, water temperature, electrical conductivity (EC), total dissolved solids (TDS),
Biological oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD) and dissolved oxygen (DO). Microbiological
analysis was done by using Membrane filter technique. The results of various parameters determined strongly
suggested that landfill leachate had severe deleterious impact on the water quality of Salhad stream. The
parameters exceeding the allowable limits of WHO, EC and National Environmental Quality Standards included
pH, TDS, BOD, COD, total bacterial counts and total coliform counts. Heavy metals like Pb, Cd and Cu were
released from the leachate into the Salhad stream which might affect the sustainability of the aquatic life.
Integrated, multi-sector approaches are required to deal with the contamination problem and sustainable
management of the Salhad stream water.

Keywords

International Journal of Environmental Research
Volume 5, Issue 2
April 2011
Pages 491-500

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