Closing a Landfill - A Case Study, 1998 Environmental Conference Proceedings

Drew Kilback

MacMillan Bloedel Limited

Gary Barrett

AGRA Earth & Environmental Limited

In this paper we present a case study of the closure of Wildwood Landfill, an industrial landfill located in Powell River, British Columbia. Site investigations initiated in 1989 indicated that some leachate impacted groundwater was reaching Powell Lake. This finding prompted a more complete investigation of the site to determine the extent of the problem and develop a plan to close the site effectively. Investigation methods included a seismic and transient electromagnetic survey, in addition to installation of a number of multiport wells. A closure plan was developed for the landfill based on the investigation results. The landfill was capped with an asphalt cement surface barrier. The asphalt cement was designed to have a very low permeability and to incorporate some hydrocarbon contaminated soil into the mix as a method of recycling. The entire project is reviewed in this paper, but the focus is on the novel elements.