The Cipayung landfill (project location) is too close to a nearby urban area. According to local Indonesian government’s rule, every landfill must be located at least 300 m away from nearest urban area whereas Cipayung is 150 m.
Residents have filed a complaint toward the local government because the potable water smells and tastes bad. The team conducted geophysical techniques such as Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR), Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT), and geochemical surveys to map the contaminated area. The GPR survey resulted in anomalous reading on the northeast, east, and southeast area of the landfill, with a noticeable contrast reading on these measurements. The ERT survey showed that there’s a low resistivity reading in the northeast, east, and southeast area. This indicates that there is an aquifer located beneath the surface on these areas.
To confirm whether the aquifer is contaminated or not, the team conducted geochemical survey, which resulted in the northeast and east area of Cipayung landfill showing presence of leachate.
“I am glad to see how this project has turned out and the significant impact it has had on our local community. We are all very proud of what we have accomplished as a team to identify the challenges that the local community faces in accessing potable water sources and what possible solutions can be provided as alternatives.”
-Stella Andoko, GWB Aquinas student participant at SEG’s Univ. Of Indonesia Student Chapter
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