Debugging the Pump and Treat Facility at the Los Angeles Landfill, Albuquerque, New Mexico

Presented on Monday, March 16, 2015
Charles Barber, Environmental Health Department, Environmental Services Division, City of Albuquerque, Albuquerque, NM

The groundwater extraction and injection wells in the Los Angeles Landfill pump and treat system have a history of rapid failure or mysterious clogging that has perpetually plagued this site. After reviewing multiple instances of well production problems, the City of Albuquerque Environmental Health Department decided to shut the system down and start looking at the most basic problem which was bacterial contamination of the system. Methods described in Sterrett’s Groundwater and Wells (2007) indicate that chlorination of the wells, tanks, air stripper, water filters and lines should be performed. Sanitizer was washed down the wells and allowed to soak for a minimum of two days and was then purged to a sanitary sewer. As cost was a significant factor in this project, the well pumps and tubing were left in place. Bacterial contamination was so great that the cleaning procedure was repeated multiple times over several weeks to clean the wellfield and restore production. We detail the sanitization of the system using on-hand instruments, equipment, and off the shelf chemistry and review some of the lessons that we learned along the way.

MP3 Presentation Slides

Charles Barber
Environmental Health Department, Environmental Services Division, City of Albuquerque, Albuquerque, NM
Charles Barber is a geologist experienced with managing historic environmental problems. He is currently conducting the repair and sampling the City of Albuquerque’s groundwater monitoring wells, operating the landfill gas extraction facility, soil vapor extraction system, and groundwater pump and treat system at the closed Los Angeles landfill in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Former projects include decommissioning pump jack pads and tank battery infrastructure for New Mexico Oil Conservation Department and site assessments for the New Mexico Department of Transportation.
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