Performance of a constructed wetland leachate treatment system at the Chunchula landfill, Mobile County, Alabama

Leachate poses a number of environmental problems. This is due primarily to the extreme variability of sources of this material, and, therefore, the heterogeneity of its composition. Operating and closed landfills generate leachate whose quality and quantity depend on how the landfill was constructed, operated and ultimately closed. Currently, a number of options exist for the containment and treatment of this type of wastewater. The methodology presented here utilizes surface-flow constructed wetlands for treatment and disposal of leachate and leachate-contaminated groundwater at the Chunchula, Alabama closed landfill, The final goal was to provide effluent water quality standards to conform to Federal National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) guidelines. (C) 1999 IAWQ Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.