Landfill Monitoring

Groundwater
Water Quality Monitoring Section (WQMS) staff sample groundwater at solid waste disposal facilities to determine if these facilities are causing adverse effects on the physical, chemical or biological attributes of groundwater. Deterioration of water quality can cause detrimental effects such as human or animal health impacts, vegetative stress or other environmental problems. WQMS staff split groundwater well samples with the facilities’ sampler as a means to detect contamination and provide a quality assurance check against routine sampling that is conducted by active and closed solid waste disposal facilities in Missouri. Missouri Department of Natural Resources' environmental laboratory analyzes samples collected by WQMS and sends spiked samples to contract laboratories analyzing groundwater samples for further quality assurance of sample analyses.

Methane
Many solid waste disposal facilities must monitor for the presence of methane soil gas to determine if methane is migrating across property lines in concentrations that may cause concern for public health and safety on properties adjacent to the landfill. Possible effects of methane gas migration include dead or stressed vegetation and explosion hazards in buildings. WQMS staff evaluates the soil gas monitoring methods of multiple landfills each year. They also perform side-by-side sampling using the GEM-2000 landfill gas monitor at multiple wells as a means to detect possible gas migration and provide a quality assurance check against routine monitoring conducted by the facilities. The information generated by this activity is used to help landfills better monitor the presence or migration of soil gas.