The Hanover Walkerton Landfill Site’s 2008 Annual Report is in.
Hanover Councillor Peter Hambly calls it a good report, that states that the landfill site is maintained in an orderly fashion..
Monitoring results indicate that the landfill leachate is migrating in a southeast direction towards the Saugeen River.
Even so, all of the leachate is within Ministry acceptable standards and is contained within the landfill boundary.
Hambly says some landfill leachate is to be expected, and as long as it remains within acceptable levels and within the landfill footprint there is no need for concern.
Monitoring of the nearby Saugeen River and Marl Lake confirm that leachate impacts are not affecting the water quality of the watershed.
In order to ensure this continues there are 31 monitoring wells surrounding the landfill site to monitor all leachate.
Part of landfill leachate is due to the landfilling of road salt and water conditioning salt.
The annual report also indicates that there was a methane gas problem in the west and northwest section of the landfill.
The problem has been corrected through better ventilation and is no longer an issue.
If methane is detected in this area again additional gas probes will be constructed to more accurately assess the methane migration.
The Hanover Walkerton Landfill Site Annual Monitoring report is now going before the Ministry of Environment for review and comment.
Landfill leachate is liquid that leaks from a landfill and enters the environment. It may exist in the landfill or it can be created after rainwater mixes with the chemical waste.