Student Members: Emily Haas, Stephen Erdman, Ginger Cordero
Faculty Advisors: Dr. Aaron Dotson
Project Mentor: Michael Rhodes
Description:
The Anchorage Regional Landfill is the only operating landfill within the Anchorage municipal boundary. The landfill has an area of 165 acres, 135 acres of that are currently lined. The landfill receives about 300,000 tons of solid waste annually and currently there are about 9,000,000 tons in place. At this time, the estimated life of the landfill is about 37 years under current solid waste management practices. The landfill currently produces about 29 million gallons per year of leachate (2017). This leachate is hauled by truck (5,000 – 6,000 gallons per load) to the Turpin Road septage station operated by Anchorage Water and Wastewater Utility. Current hauling practices are approaching capacity, whereas three truck loads are hauled to the septage station five of seven days per week.
At this current point in time, Solid Waste Services has commissioned TetraTech to produce a comprehensive masterplan for the utility. While this masterplan has considered technologies that could be used on-site to treat leachate, the masterplan does not consider technologies or practices that could minimize the generation of leachate.
The purpose of this project is to reduce leachate generation at the Anchorage Regional Landfill by assessing leachate reduction alternatives, selecting a design alternate, and providing a final design and operational plan with leachate reduction estimates. The Project has the potential to benefit multiple utilities owned and operated by the Municipality of Anchorage. The selected leachate reduction alternative must strive to: minimize changes in operational practice at the landfill; utilize existing construction equipment at the landfill; be easily adaptable and adjusted as solid waste is placed within the landfill; and provide effective operational in all seasonal conditions The project shall be cognizant of all environmental regulations that may pertain to capture and discharge of storm water on or adjacent to the landfill. Further, leachate quality is regulated and considerations must be given to the potential that this quality may change if leachate volume is reduced.
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