Determination of Groundwater Quality Near a Non-engineered Landfill Using Electrical Resistivity Tomography

Abstract

Groundwater is one of the major sources of drinking water. Groundwater often gets contaminated which makes very dangerous when consumed. Groundwater sources present in an immediate environment of a non-engineered landfill are more prone to get contaminated. Prediction of groundwater contamination using the platitudinous method using a few test wells is time consuming and cannot accurately illustrate the contamination of the whole site. Electrical resistivity tomography (ERT), an advanced non-invasive technique, can effectively and economically be used to delineate and predict the contaminated zoned of groundwater. This study developed a correlation with which the quality of groundwater near a non-engineered landfill can be known without making any borehole and laboratory analyses. For this study a model non-engineered landfill of dimension 4 m × 2.4 m × 0.6 m depth was prepared to replicate the original site condition. Electrical resistivity test was performed on and around the landfill to visualize the groundwater contamination. Groundwater was collected regularly near the landfill for five months and analyzed for contaminant concentrations. Water quality index (WQI) was calculated to determine the quality of water for each sample and correlated with the resistivity data. Design chats were prepared by correlating water quality with resistivity value. The study evidenced the efficiency of resistivity surveys in predicting the contaminated zone of groundwater.