Assessment of aquatic ecosystems in the zone of influence of four closed MSW landfills

The relevance of the article is conditioned by the fragmentation of not only official, but also scientific ideas about the contribution of municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills to environmental pollution, the fragmentation of hydrobiological research as such, and the need for reliable data on the structure and mechanisms of formation of aquatic ecosystems. The aim of the work is to discover the unity and differences in the state of aquatic ecosystems formed in the zone of influence of MSW landfills similar in life cycle stage (already closed and reconstructed). The objectives of the work were to select four representative closed MSW landfills, to collect official data on their technical condition, to conduct a comprehensive environmental survey with obligatory sampling and hydrobiological and hydrochemical analyses, to analyze the results in terms of assessing compliance with standards, to search for the dependence of pollution on the life cycle stage of the MSW landfill and to formulate assumptions about the conditions of ecosystem formation under the effect of a complex of anthropogenic impacts (including those not related to the MSW landfills). The article presents the results of an environmental study of the tributaries of the Likhoborka river (near the Dolgoprudnensky MSW landfill), a tributary of the Radomlya river (in the village Radumlya near the former illegal MSW landfill), the Nara River (near the Sliznevo MSW landfill), and the Chernichka River (near the Tsarevo MSW landfill). Descriptions of other economic objects in their catchment areas and assumptions about the possible contribution of these additional sources to the pollution of aquatic ecosystems are given. The methodology of investigation, sampling for hydrochemical and hydrobiological analyses and their results are presented. Moderate pollution both before and after the MSW landfills was determined by calculating the Pantle-Buck index. Changes in species composition and abundance at the second site relative to the first site were monitored. The WPI calculation revealed generally moderate background pollution (higher in the Dolgoprudny area due to at least four concentrated discharges not associated with the MSW landfill, and lower in the ecologically safe area due to proximity to the source and the unloaded background of Tsarevo). Characteristic increases in pollutant concentrations (mainly ammonium, which is problematic for all areas) were observed. The conclusion about the relatively small contribution of the closed MSW landfills to river pollution was formulated.

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