Integration of Geophysical and Hydrochemical Methods to Determine the Groundwater Contamination in Al-Hosayniat Landfill South East Mafraq City, Jordan

An integration of Geophysical – Electromagnetic and hydro-chemical methods was used to investigate the potential of groundwater contamination due to Al-Hosayniat Municipal Landfill (HL) southeast of Mafraq city. Twenty-five Time Domain Electromagnetic (TDEM) soundings were carried out inside and outside the HL in addition to one WNW-ESE Very Low Frequency (VLF) profile. The TDEM's results help to define the subsurface geology and structures down to 240m depth. The results also depict the presence of a major fault striking NW-SE that crosses the whole landfill, this fault is documented in the surface geological map, and it was delineated and imaged by TDEM measurements and detected at larger depths. VLF results also detected the presence of a major fault beneath the landfill. The presence of the fault just beneath the HL may enhance the leachate movement which can imply groundwater contamination hazards for a longer period as it is a preferential pathway for contaminants. The results of water quality analyses of adjacent wells show higher concentrations of Na+, SO-24, TDS in some wells and this can be ascribed to agricultural activities and over-pumping in the area rather than landfill leachate. The heavy metal concentrations were found to be within the permissible limits and did't indicate direct contamination due to the HL. However, Fluorite (F-) shows a high concentration of (1.3mg/l) in WS4 and WS5 wells and approaches the permissible limit (1.5mg/l) according to the Jordan Water Standards (JWS). Bromide (Br) shows high concentration of (0.6mg/l) in well Al-2462.