Case Studies, Dewater Gas Wells with Solar, Solar Pumps

Solar Apollos Dewater Gas Wells At Old East Coast Superfund Site

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A construction site with solar panels installed on the ground features equipment for water piping, including a top-head drive pump and a control box connected to pipes. A small excavator is in the background. The area is grassy with bare trees in the distance.
03
Jul

Solar Apollos dewatering closed 1955 landfill that still generates smelly gas

Municipalities, counties responsible for thousands of closed sites

Apollo Solar Piston Pumps™ from Blackhawk Technology Company were the choice of a nationally respected engineering firm to remove groundwater and condensate from new gas-extraction wells at an East Coast landfill closed in the late 1970s after being designated a Superfund site.

Counties and municipalities across North America are responsible for thousands of closed landfills, often commissioned before the advent of effective liners. Old landfills can still generate methane, and many have remediation issues for seeping leachate.

The East Coast site, opened in 1955, was operated by a township before being purchased in 1972 by a multi-state waste company. The U.S. EPA ordered the landfill closed after liquids from the landfill began leaking onto nearby streets, forcing a housing-construction project to be abandoned. The liquid contained VOCs and pollutants were found in residential water wells. The closest residence was about 50 feet from the site.

Cleanup and remedy requirements were met in 1993, and the landfill was removed from the national priorities list in 1994. EPA reviews in 2000, 2005 and 2010 determined that the remedy remained protective. Results are pending from a new EPA five-year review.

Housing was built that eventually surrounded the site. Nearby residents, however, claimed that odorous methane still emanated from the landfill. The site manager decided to install three LFG gas-extraction wells to reduce the odor and power a gas-to-energy collection system.

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