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Restoration of Distressed Liners at a Hazardous Waste Landfill

Posted on July 15, 2026July 15, 2026 by admin

15
Jul

Anchor Electric Piston Pump Brings Section of Landfill Back Into Compliance

A Midwest disposal facility found use of an Anchor Electric 101 top-head drive piston pump to effectively mitigate the effect of a crushed side slope well.

Early in 2003, during routine sampling of the secondary sump, the pump became stuck during extraction. Working as a team, the owner, designer, and contractor created a shaft-accessed repair design plan.

The design included extending a 10-foot diameter steel cased shaft to a depth of approximately 60 feet below waste surface and cutting a section of liner plate so it would conform to the shape of the sump.

The Perfect Pump

Construction of the first access shaft began in March of 2006. This location did not require a breach of the primary liner and would serve as a "dry run" for subsequent shafts.

The shaft was successfully extended through 120 feet of waste and intercepted the leachate collection pipe on the primary geomembrane liner, where a new cleanout riser was installed to the top of the waste.

The team had worked extensively with several pump manufacturers to develop or modify a pump that could fit within a small diameter "slipline" pipe, was short enough to extend past the deformed elbows, and capable of lifting liquid over 130 feet. Blackhawk was able to modify the newly developed Anchor Electric 101 top-head drive piston pump to meet the needs of the project.

Problem Solving

The diameter shaft was extended to the collapsed section of the existing riser, the damaged pipe was removed, and the new vertical riser pipe was installed to waste surface.

However, once access was restored, video inspection of the lower elbow revealed that additional deformation of the elbow section had occurred. Only the one-inch diameter pipe could be inserted full depth into the secondary sump, and since the piston pump casing was 1½-inch diameter without a "slipline" pipe, a further redesign of the pumping system was needed.

Blackhawk fitted the pump foot valve with a ½-inch diameter suction tube and tested the modified pumping system. Trials showed that the liquid could be lifted through the suction tube the expected 26 vertical feet to the pump foot valve where it was ultimately pumped to the waste surface.

A Non-Intrusive Solution

This solution was preferable to all parties, including the regulatory agencies involved. With help from the Anchor Electric piston pump, the team was able to lower the leachate on the landfill liner sufficiently to one inch above the bottom line to bring that section of the landfill back into compliance, eliminating the need to dig up this section of the landfill to replace the crushed side slope discharge pipe.