DOVER — The installation of more than 40 wells at the Tolend Road Landfill was recently completed, bringing the city one step closer to tackling groundwater issues stemming from the former municipal dumping site.



According to Dean Peschel of Peschel Consulting LLC, the landfill was operated as a site for municipal and local businesses' trash between 1960 and 1978, where holes were dug in the ground to bury waste.



Contamination became a problem, as water from rainstorms moves from the northern tip of the site through the landfill and out toward forested wetlands and residences located near the southeastern tip of the site. The contaminants ultimately make their way into the Cocheco River.



"The whole problem was discovered when houses along Tolend Road discovered their wells were contaminated," said Peschel. "The wells were closed off in the 80s and the city brought them water."



Peschel said the Environmental Protection Agency mandated a suitable plan be devised to provide protection from such contaminants to the environment as well as to humans. That plan, a pump and treat system, is currently under way.



In recent months, a series of wells have been built along the southern and eastern edge of the landfill. The wells, according to Peschel, will collect contaminated groundwater and transport it through a set of pipes to an equalization tank also located on the former dumping site that will be constructed in the next couple of weeks.



Once the water is in the equalization tank, it will be separated from sediment and will then be pumped to a sewer station that will transport the water through a set of pipes stretching from the site to the city's Wastewater Treatment Plant on Middle Road. The set of pipes leading from the landfill to a city sewer line located on County Farm Road are currently being set in place along Glen Hill Road, Covered Bridge Lane and over to the Cocheco River, where a pipe bridge that will double as a pedestrian bridge will be installed.



"We expect everything to be completed by November," said Peschel. "Then the system will be turned on."



Peschel said the buried trash will stay there and degrade over time. Until then, the contaminant pumping system will continue.



"We've seen levels (of trash) going down dramatically over the years, but it will be a very long time before everything is good," said Peschel.



The construction of the wells and piping system has been funded through what Peschel called potential responsible parties. Since the landfill was closed down, a number of different entities were identified as having contributed waste to the site during its 18-year operation period.



As the city is one of those entities, Peschel said officials have set aside money for a number of years in its Capitol Improvement Program to finance necessary studies, as well as fund the construction of the pump and treat system. Other entities have contributed financially to the $5 million project as well.