Summary
The town of Quillicom is indeed in need of a land fill. There are three sites that have been selected as potential land fill sites, but only two out of three sites are considered to be environmentally safe. Regarding the third site, there is limited data to indicate whether it is safe or not and whether it can cause environmental risk. The three sited selected are all financially viable but there is one which will be costly to operate because of its distance from the town.
Introduction
The town of Quillicom operates one exiting land fill site: Lot 22 and sub-division 3s. This land fill is nearly full and there is a need to find a new one. The town engineer Robert Delorme has established that the land fill in use is nearing its capacity and there is need to find a new one to be used immediately the existing one is full. The town has identified two sites as potential land fill to replace the existing one. These are: Lot 18 subdivision 5N which is four kilometers north of the town and lot 47, subdivision 6E that is 14 kilometers southeast of the town. This report was aimed at determining the availability and the costs of the new landfill. When these factors were taken into consideration, the first lot, Lot 18 was found to be economical and hence, it was the one that was favored by the Town Council. The only problem with this lot was the concerns over leachate that came from the site. This was raised by the town’s engineer, Mr. Delorme and according to him; this leachate could have the negative effect of contaminating the potable ground water and hence recommended that an environmental study be carried out by the town (Municipal Solid Waste in (Hawaii 17).
On the era geology, the bedrock of the area of Quillicom is made up of gneiss and granite which lays 15-30 miters below the surface. There is also a tilt layer that varies in thickness. The area for the potential landfill has also experienced glaciation, though the recent one took place several years ago. This scattered the gneiss and granite. Silt and clay was also deposited on the site. The glaciation created a lake. Quillicom town gets its potable water from the stinger aquifer that is on the surface of ground water wells. This is located in the south and east of the town. This has been plotted on the map. There is also other stringer aquifers in the town of Quillicom Most of the information on the previous drilling logs were obtained from the Ontario Water Resources Branch. The locations and they typographic types of materials used have been plotted. There are also few boreholes records for the potential landfill sites of Quillicom. There was no map plotted for these Northern sites.
Lot 23, Subdivision 3 S
This is a land fill site that is located in a 7.8 hectare land and it is opposite the existing site and located south of the town. This site is the smallest and it will cost little amount of money to purchase and develop and just like the current landfill, it is estimated to have a lifespan of 12-14 years.
The proposed landfill sites
This section will discuss the potential landfill sites and their projected operational costs.
Lot 18, Subdivision 5N
This is a narrow site that is in a strategic position. This is the site that is favored by various opinion leaders. This is the smallest site and it costs very little to purchase and to develop; approximately $3000 will be involved in this process. Furthermore, the annual operating costs are similar to the existing landfill, approximately $49500, $2500 more than what is used in the existing landfill. It is square in shape and occupies 22.72 hectares of land and it is located on the North of the town of Quillicom. At the current fill rate, it is estimated that this site will take approximately 36-40 years to be filled.
Melody Lake mines
This is another potential landfill and one of the proposed ones. This is at larger distances and the combined costs of purchasing and developing the landfill is $20000 and the yearly operating costs are $64000. This high operating is necessitated by the large distance that will be travelled by the garbage collection vehicles. With the long distance, this site may not be viable because it will drain the town’s resources. The lifespan of this landfill, is, however, estimated to be 60 years. Melody Lakes Mines are an open pit mine that has been worked out and it is on the verge of closing. This assistant superintendent of the Melody Lakes Mined has proposed that the site can be leased instead of covering it with earth. The town of Quillicom can lease it for its landfill purposes. This lease, however, comes with a condition that the town should spread the compacted garbage progressively as the site is filled. This is to prevent obnoxious smell for the people neighboring the landfill. The estimated size of the open pit mind is 24.86 hectares (Bagchi and Amalendu 246).
The potential sites are indicated by the graph below.
Site comparison
On comparing the potential land fill sites, the following three factors were placed under consideration, these are: convenience, environmental impact and cost. On costs, the factors that were placed into consideration are: the expenses for purchasing and developing and the annual costs of operation. On Lot 23, because it is opposite the existing landfill, it offers the best option in terms of purchase and development as compared with the two sites. Together with Lot 23, Lot 18 offers the best in terms of operating costs when compared with the open pit mine or the Melody Lakes Mine. The open pit mine is cheap because the town will only lease.
On environmental risk, the greatest environmental risky is the issue of leachate. Leachate has the potential of ruining the potable water of the town. Lot 23 lies in bedrock and hence poses no environmental risks. Lot 18 is in an unchartered area and hence offering potential for leachate which could contaminate the potable water. The open pit mine is the best because it was in use and the neighborhoods had never complained on any environmental risk. It only required compacting to remove any smell.
On convince, this was established based on the proximity with the town and the number of years it can take to be filled. The Melody Lakes Mine is the best since it takes 60 years to get filled; it is, though farther from the town. Lot 18 is close to town and takes 40 years to be filled (Lawrence 124).
Conclusion
Because of the possibility of leachate for lot 18, it can be an environmental risky and hence not viable for a landfill. Lot 23 is environmentally good but the Melody Lakers Mines is costly to operate and it has the risky for contamination due to ground water contamination problems; this is dispelled by the experts because the bedrock slips to the south and the pit and the community are at the north, it also has a big space for landfill. Lot 23 can offer limited costs but not viable due to the short lifespan.
Recommendation
We recommend that the town of Quillicom purchases and uses the Melody Lakes Mine or the Open pit mine. This is because it is cheap and environmentally friendly.
Works Cited
Bagchi, Amalendu, and Amalendu Bagchi. Design of Landfills and Integrated Solid Waste Management. Hoboken: John Wiley, 2004. Print.
Lawrence, David P. Environmental Impact Assessment: Practical Solutions to Recurrent Problems. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, 2003. Print.
Municipal Solid Waste in Hawaii: Resolving Landfill Problems and Developing a New Energy Source. Honolulu, Hawaii: Dept. of Planning and Economic Development, State of Hawaii, 1983. Print.
