Jaseela Chonattu, Kavya Prabhakar, Harikumar Puthenveedu Sadasivan Pillai^*

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Water Quality Division, Centre for Water Resources Development and Management, Kozhikode, India.
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Abstract: This study was conducted to measure the impact of a municipal solid waste landfill on groundwater quality around Njelianparamba, a solid waste dumping site in Kozhikode district, Kerala state, India. One of the major problems associated with dumping of municipal solid waste landfill is the release of leachate and its impact on surrounding groundwater. In this study, physico-chemical and bacteriological parameters of groundwater samples collected from the region surrounding the leachate area during the pre- and post-monsoon seasons were analysed. The majority of the groundwater samples contained contaminants at a level beyond the permissible limit set by the Bureau of Indian Standards for drinking water quality. The Geographic Information System software of the Environmental Systems Research Institute, (USA) ArcMap 10.1 was used to prepare spatial distribution maps of different parameters and Leachate Pollution Index and Water Quality Index in the study area were applied to assess the overall quality of groundwater. Characterisation of leachate and groundwater samples revealed that, water in the domestic wells has been deteriorated in response to the percolation of leachate. Additionally spatial and correlation analysis revealed that contamination was present maximum within 300 m radius around the landfill site.

Keywords: Correlation Analysis, Geographic Information System, Leachate, Leachate Pollution Index, Percolation, Water Quality Index

Cite this paper: Chonattu, J. , Prabhakar, K. and Pillai, H. (2016) Geospatial and Statistical Assessment of Groundwater Contamination Due to Landfill Leachate—A Case Study. Journal of Water Resource and Protection, 8, 121-134. doi: 10.4236/jwarp.2016.82010.

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