Leachate is water that becomes trapped within the landfill during operations. Because bulk liquids are not accepted into the landfill for disposal, the major contributor to leachate forming is rainfall. Subtitle D regulations require that leachate be collected and removed from the landfill. At Covel Gardens, every disposal cell or phase has a leachate collection and removal system in place.
As leachate collects in the landfill it is pumped through a pipeline to three (3) on site evaporation ponds. These ponds in total have a holding capacity of approximately 6 million gallons. Each pond is equipped with aerators that keep the leachate from becoming stagnant and promote evaporation.
