Investigation of leachate quality from the Trail Road Landfill

Leachate data for the Trail Road sanitary landfill were obtained for stages three (3) and four (4) of the landfill, located in the City of Ottawa, for the period of 10 years from 1996 to 2005. Data included several parameters such as pH, BOD, COD, Ca, Fe, Cl, SO₄, some selected heavy metals such as: Cu, Zn, Pb, and other parameters like Toluene and Vinyl Chloride. Analysis was performed to these data using Microsoft Excel analysis tools. Various graphical and statistical techniques such as Correlation, regression, and contaminant specific analysis were used to characterize leachate from the Trail Road Landfill. The data collected were fitted with trend lines to represent temporal variations. Pearson Product Moment correlation analysis as a multivariate statistical method was later used for identifying linear relationships between the quality of leachate with respect to the water infiltration to the waste, calculated from monthly precipitation data. Results from this research yielded noteworthy temporal variations of many parameters in leachate over the study period. Also, the effect of many factors like the net water infiltrating waste from precipitation and methanogenesis of leachate on the behaviour of leachate parameters was noticeable.