Browsing by Author "Edirisinghe, DD"

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Investigation of potential impacts on ground and surface water due to Galle municipal council dumpsite
(2013-11-13) Ruwan, KDB; Rathnayaka, RMASK; Dayanthi, WKCN; Edirisinghe, DD; Priyankara, NH
Open dumpsites are the widely used practice in Sri Lanka for disposal of unsorted solid waste. Waste management of Galle Municipal Council (GMC) area has been done by the municipal council. Solid waste generated in the GMC area is collected by the GMC, and a small portion of biodegradable waste is used to produce compost. Rest of the waste is disposed on a semi-controlled dumpsite. Gin river is flowing by the side of the dumpsite. Therefore controls and precautionary measures are needed at this dumpsite because it is likely to generate highly contaminated leachate which may be a threat to Gin river and surrounding groundwater. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential impacts caused by the GMC dumpsite - leachate on Gin river water and surrounding groundwater. There were about 72 % of volatile solids reduction in the solid waste dumped for 8 years at the dumpsite as compared with the fresh solids wastes. This indicates the biodegradation of dumped solid waste. Therefore it is highly possible that leachate from this site is rich in organic matter. The reduction in electrical conductivity shows that the possible dissolution of ionized solids which were initially present with solid waste, into soil water. The leachate was found to have exceeded effluent discharge standards for the parameters such as biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5), chemical oxygen demand (COD), turbidity, total suspended solids (TSS), ammonium-nitrogen (NH4+ - N) , orthophosphate, selenium (Se), arsenic (As), chromium (Cr) and ferrous (Fe). Chloride (Cl-), COD and turbidity values of the ground water sample were higher than the highest desirable standard levels for drinking purpose. Arsenic (As) and selenium (Se) exceeded the maximum permissible levels of drinking water standards. „Se‟ concentration in leachate, Gin river water and groundwater was extremely high. The mean concentrations of BOD5, COD, turbidity, Cl-, conductivity, „Se‟ and „Cr‟ of the portion of Gin river which is in the immediate vicinity to the dumpsite exceeded the ambient water quality standards. The study revealed that the leachate from the dumpsite has adversely affected the surrounding ground and surface water.
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Preliminary solid waste management (SWM) data survey and assessment of town, treatment site and disposal site conditions; case study southern province of Sri Lanka
(2013-11-13) Edirisinghe, DD; Priyankara, NH; Dayanthi, KCN; Alagiyawanna, AMN; Mangalika, L; Ijima, S; Kawamoto, K
In case of southern province of Sri Lanka, Solid Waste Management (SWM) can be an aggravated problem in future with respect to the present development activities in the area. To find a sustainable solution for this problem is very important to aware about present situation of SWM in the province. But there is no SWM data survey has been carried out in the province recently. Therefore under this research work a preliminary SWM data survey has been conducted in all 49 Local Authorities (LA) in Southern province. Research work was basically carried out at LA level since LA is the responsible administration body for solid waste management within its territory. Further town condition, waste treatment and disposal site conditions of each local authority were visited and assessed according to an accepted assessment criteria. Total daily waste collection in the province is 231.65 tons and it is only a 20% of total daily waste generation in the province. Composting is the most adopted waste treatment method in the province as 19 LAs out of 49 have already established composting facilities. Waste disposal is the major problem for most of the LAs as it contributes to create many socio-environmental issues. When consider waste disposal methods in southern province, 29 LAs have adopted open dumping while other LAs are burying. According to the assessment it was found that SWM in 96 percent of LAs is not up the acceptable level. The findings and results of the study have been presented in this research paper in detail.