Hydrogeological Study of Contamination of Soil and Water in the Vicinity of Municipal Dumping Ground: A Case Study

Municipal solid waste disposal is a global concern in terms of the environment, the economy, and society. The probability of groundwater contamination is considerable due to the restricted amount of available land and inadequate leachate management systems. The hydrogeological investigation described in the study intends to look into the soil and water contamination near a municipal dumping site. The dumpsite, which is situated in an urban area, raises serious environmental issues due to the possibility of soil and groundwater contamination. In this study, hydrogeological field research with laboratory analysis determined the extent and type of contamination. Soil and water samples were taken from the Wariyana dumpsites in Kapurthala (Jalandhar) and the surrounding areas of the dumpsite to assess the region's geology and hydrological characteristics. A variety of pollutants, including heavy metals, and organic compounds were analyzed in water samples from the dumpsite and neighboring surface water bodies. Additionally, soil samples are taken from several sites close to the dumping site to assess the quality of the soil and the presence of pollutants. The soil and water samples were analyzed for type of soil, specific gravity, water content and trace metals, pH, dissolved oxygen, total dissolved solids (TDS), and heavy metal pollution index, respectively. The pollution index was analyzed for all the water samples, suggesting higher pollution in leachate, i.e., 168. In addition, lead is the metal in leachate that contributes the most to pollution having a value of 73.57.