Challenge

The County of San Bernardino Department of Public Works Solid Waste Division (SWMD) operates 39 Class III landfills. These landfills need to meet stringent regulatory requirements, including minimum requirements for certain analytes in groundwater that require constant monitoring.

Solutions

SWMD contracted with GLA in 1993 to providing quarterly monitoring and reporting for approximately 400 monitoring stations located at 29 of SWMD’s landfills. In addition to sampling groundwater and surface water, GLA also sampled for soil-pore gas, landfill gas condensate, leachate, and septic ponds. We have produced quarterly, semi-annual, and annual reports, all continuing onto the present day. Our team has routinely re-evaluated our groundwater monitoring program at each site throughout the years to reduce redundancies and provide a more cost-effective and technically superior monitoring program.  

In addition to sampling, GLA has also provided a wide range of profession support and non-routine services. We have been responsible for the design and implementation of corrective action programs and the maintenance of these groundwater systems. Our maintenance responsibilities have included periodic pump repairs, new pump installations, wellhead repairs, and well decommission and replacement activities. We have also prepared engineering feasibility studies for the evaluation of the installation, operations, and maintenance costs for these repairs and installations.

GLA has also provided a range of regulatory support. We have acted as regulatory liaison in support of SWMD’s overall water quality monitoring programs since initially being contracted. GLA has also provided professional support at several smaller disposal sites that do not require groundwater monitoring but where regulatory agency or County coordination is necessary. Further, we have provided SWMD with technical support to resolve a number of litigious, landfill-related issues.

Results

At nearly all other landfills in the program, GLA and the County have effectively reduced the number of sampling points and analytes monitored, as well as the frequency of monitoring from quarterly to semi-annual, annual, and in one case, once every five years. Our work has also allowed for the elimination of groundwater monitoring at four of the sites. These efforts have led to a substantial reduction in total monitoring costs over the years, and SWMD’s annual cost per monitoring point is also significantly lower. System improvements have resulted in SWMD cost savings estimated to be more than $17 million dollars over the last decades.