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Planned Landfill Raises Alarm Over Water Contamination Risks
By Jean Davenport-Niles
Here’s the Simple Facts: What Everyone Should Know Before Approving This Landfill
As our community faces a major decision about siting a landfill, there are some critical facts that deserve serious attention — especially when it comes to protecting our water supply.
At the center of concern is leachate, the toxic liquid created when rainwater filters through waste. This runoff collects a wide range of contaminants: heavy metals (like cadmium and lead), nitrates, chloride, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), ammonia, and PFAS—a class of chemicals so persistent they’re known as “forever chemicals.”
Once leachate escapes its containment, it travels into the surrounding soil and eventually the groundwater, the same aquifer system many local households rely on for drinking water. Even modern lined landfills are not foolproof—liners can crack, shift, or degrade over time, especially decades after a landfill closes.
In one study (Environmental Monitoring and Assessment), researchers found that landfills more than 20 years old were still leaching heavy metals, posing a long-term contamination threat despite engineered barriers.
Closer to home, at Maryland’s Alpha Ridge Landfill, testing revealed dangerous levels of TCE and industrial solvents in nearby private wells—up to 20 times over EPA safety limits—well after the site had been active. It became a cautionary tale about how slow-moving contaminants can go undetected until it’s too late.
Water contamination is not easily reversed. It often requires expensive remediation or permanent well shutdowns. That’s why many experts urge extreme caution when landfills are proposed near aquifers, recharge zones, or drinking water infrastructure.
As the community evaluates this project, the question isn’t just about waste—it’s about whether any short-term gain is worth the long-term risk to our most critical natural resource.
“We can truck in trash, but we can’t truck in clean groundwater,” said one resident. “Once it’s gone, it’s gone.”
References
1. Khan, S. et al. (2023). Assessment of Groundwater Quality Near a Landfill Site Using Multivariate and Spatial Analysis. Water, 17(4), 572. https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/17/4/572
2. Jegatheesan, V. et al. (2018). Impact of uncontrolled landfills on groundwater contamination in developing countries. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6394592
3. Alpha Ridge Landfill. (2023). Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha_Ridge_Landfill