Kandiyohi County took an innovative step forward this week with the unveiling of groundbreaking technology that transforms the treatment of landfill leachate.
The North American debut of the $2.8-million LeachBuster treatment and filtration system is impressive.
Kudos to Kandiyohi County officials and staff for their part in embracing this new technology.
Thank you also to the officials and staff of Apex Technical Solutions, Clark Technology and other contractors for helping bring this new technology to our county.
The LeachBuster system is now being used for treatment and filtration of leachate captured from the Kandiyohi County Solid Waste Sanitary Landfill, located at 15650 Highway 71 north of Willmar.
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The leachate is captured as rainwater and snowmelt seeps into and through the landfill, which is collected by a bottom liner and then stored in an underground storage system.
Before the LeachBuster system was installed, the leachate was trucked off-site to various wastewater treatment facilities, where the leachate was then diluted and allowed to be discharged into the environment. The county will save about $200,000 per year in trucking costs plus the related wear and tear of the public roads.
A bigger factor is that the previous leachate discharge did not have all compounds removed, which could create some possible groundwater contamination.
Using a single-pass membrane system, the LeachBuster technology filters out all the contaminants from metals and chemical compounds, including pathogens and pharmaceuticals, from the leachate.
What remains is water that meet the “national drinking standards,” according to company officials.
This clean water is then discharged into an outdoor infiltration basin, where it can eventually be absorbed back into the water table.
The new system is currently treating about 20,000 gallons of water per day, but can handle about 80,000 gallons a day.
The system changes brown leachate into clear and clean water that is a positive environmental move that is immeasurable. Another benefit is that the savings from the shipping charges will also help pay off the bonds that financed the new on-site system.
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Kandiyohi County officials did their research, made a wise decision, invested in new technology to treat the leachate and helped protect our environment for coming generations.
Job well done.
