Landfill Leachate in Alluvial Aquifers -- Norman, Oklahoma

Water that infiltrates and percolates through landfills produces leachate, which may contain undesirable and toxic chemicals. The character of the leachate depends to a large degree on the type of waste stored and the hydrologic and chemical conditions of the landfill. Construction practices for modern landfills has significantly reduced the threat of leachate contaminating water resources. Although the number of landfills in the United States has decreased steadily from 8,000 in 1988 to 1,767 in 2002, landfills are much larger and total landfill capacity has remained relatively constant. Furthermore, some historic landfill still pose a risk of environmental contamination. Toxics Program research focuses on a subsurface leachate plume in an alluvial aquifer adjacent to a municipal landfill near Norman, Oklahoma. The landfill accepted municipal wastes for more than 60 years until it closed in 1985. Ground water at the site is contaminated by dozens of organic compounds, many of which are toxins and carcinogens. Investigations at the site focus on the interactions between the contaminant plume, the aquifer, and the river. The study results will be readily transferable to numerous municipal landfills across the country.

Related Headlines

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• Relying on Nature to Clean Up Contaminated Ground Water

More Information

• Norman Toxics Site Home Page -- The Norman research team maintains its own home page that contains additional information about the Norman Toxics Site.
• Project Bibliography
• Abstracts from Selected Meetings/Conferences
• Project Photo Gallery
• Biocomplexity in the Environment: Coupled Biogeochemical Cycles
• Organic Compounds in Near-Surface Environments: Understanding Fate in a Changing Biogeochemical Landscape
• Geochemical Studies at the Norman Landfill
• Toxics Geophysics Project
• Kinetic Controls on Sulfate Reduction at an Experimentally Induced Mixing Interface in a Contaminated Wetland, Norman Landfill, Texas A&M University, Department of Geology and Geophysics
• Texas A&M University, USGS Scientists, Study Whether Methane Is Present Beneath Landfills, How it May Naturally Decay an article in the New Waves newsletter of the Texas Water Resources Institute, Vol. 13, No. 3 November 2000 issue
• For additional information about the Norman Toxics Site please send e-mail to Scott Christenson at

Location Map of the Norman Landfill Research Site

Project Remediation Related Activities

• Quantifying Subsurface Biodegradation

Other Landfill Remediation Related Activates

• Landfill Leachate Mobilizes Arsenic Bound in Aquifer Sediments: Saco, Maine
• Alternative Landfill Cover Assessment

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