Hydrological modelling of a recycling facility with landfill
A parsimonious lumped model was developed for simulating a catchment composed of a landfill and recycling facility. The modelling results showed acceptable conformity with the observed values with NSE of 0.54 and R2 of 0.56 in hourly simulations, though the results were characterized by a general underestimation. The catchment model was coupled with a reservoir model to simulate the leachate storage ponds downstream of the catchment. The time simulated storage of the leachate ponds was aligning with the observed recordings with NSE of 0.96. Simulation of the expected climate change was made to deduce the required expansion of the ponds in future climate and the required additional volumes were calculated to 7,800 m3 for the current climate to avoid overflow, with 9,100 m3 for the near term and 10,100 m3 for the mid- and long-term effects of climate change. It is also recommended to optimize the leachate ponds storage by improving the treatment plant capacity, and/or by continuous control of inflow and outflow. An additional storage volume would probably still be needed.