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Characterization of soil cover and estimation of water infiltration at Central Facilities Area Landfill II, Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL) Item Info

To assist the Geosciences Unit of E G & G Idaho, Inc. with hydrogeologic characterization of Central Facilities Area (CFA) Landfill II, researchers at the University of Idaho have completed a project aimed at characterizing the soil cover and estimating the annual water infiltration through the cover. Based on historical evidence of landfill operations and on the results of particle size analyses with depth, it is reasonable to divide the soil cover into two layers: (1) an upper surface layer approximately 1-ft. thick consisting of more sand than gravel, and (2) a lower layer at depths greater than 1 ft. consisting of more gravel than sand. The overall thickness of the soil cover was measured with a hand auger at 60 locations across the landfill. A field procedure using cheese-cloth and resin was successfully used to collect large, undisturbed specimens of coarse-grained soils. Water retention tests of the large cores and smaller specimens comprised of the fine fraction (particles smaller than 2.0 mm) provided relationships of capillary pressures vs. water content. Historical meteorological data from a 31-year record was used to estimate the amount of water available for annual infiltration through the soil cover (i.e., recharge). The median value of annual (PPT-ETA) was combined with block-kriged maps of cover thickness, percent-fines in Layer 1, and percent-fines in Layer 2 to generate maps depicting the estimated annual infiltration through the cover (in 50 x 50 ft. cells) for a "median year. Based on results, regulatory closure f CFA Landfill II will require the design and construction of a soil cap. Soil materials that contain more silt and clay than Layer 1 material will be required to economically construct a cap. In addition, ground surface sloping and a properly selected cover crop of grasses should be incorporated into any prudent design of the soil cap.

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Title:
Characterization of soil cover and estimation of water infiltration at Central Facilities Area Landfill II, Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL)
Authors:
Miller, S. M.; Hammel, J. E.; Hall, L. F.
Date Created (ISO Standard):
1989-05
Description:
To assist the Geosciences Unit of E G & G Idaho, Inc. with hydrogeologic characterization of Central Facilities Area (CFA) Landfill II, researchers at the University of Idaho have completed a project aimed at characterizing the soil cover and estimating the annual water infiltration through the cover. Based on historical evidence of landfill operations and on the results of particle size analyses with depth, it is reasonable to divide the soil cover into two layers: (1) an upper surface layer approximately 1-ft. thick consisting of more sand than gravel, and (2) a lower layer at depths greater than 1 ft. consisting of more gravel than sand. The overall thickness of the soil cover was measured with a hand auger at 60 locations across the landfill. A field procedure using cheese-cloth and resin was successfully used to collect large, undisturbed specimens of coarse-grained soils. Water retention tests of the large cores and smaller specimens comprised of the fine fraction (particles smaller than 2.0 mm) provided relationships of capillary pressures vs. water content. Historical meteorological data from a 31-year record was used to estimate the amount of water available for annual infiltration through the soil cover (i.e., recharge). The median value of annual (PPT-ETA) was combined with block-kriged maps of cover thickness, percent-fines in Layer 1, and percent-fines in Layer 2 to generate maps depicting the estimated annual infiltration through the cover (in 50 x 50 ft. cells) for a "median year. Based on results, regulatory closure f CFA Landfill II will require the design and construction of a soil cap. Soil materials that contain more silt and clay than Layer 1 material will be required to economically construct a cap. In addition, ground surface sloping and a properly selected cover crop of grasses should be incorporated into any prudent design of the soil cap.
Subjects:
Hydrogeology Waste management Infiltration
Location:
Southern Idaho
Collection:
Boise Basin
IWRRI number:
198907
Rights:
Rights to the digital resource are held by the University of Idaho. http://www.uidaho.edu/
Publisher:
Idaho Water Resources Research Institute; University of Idaho
Contributing Institution:
University of Idaho
Type:
Text
Format:
application/pdf
Cataloger:
KIT
Date Digitized:
2017-09-11

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Preferred Citation:
"Characterization of soil cover and estimation of water infiltration at Central Facilities Area Landfill II, Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL)", Idaho Waters Digital Library, University of Idaho Library Digital Collections, https://www.lib.uidaho.edu/digital/iwdl/items/iwdl-198907.html
Rights
Rights:
Rights to the digital resource are held by the University of Idaho. http://www.uidaho.edu/
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