{"id":32904,"date":"2026-01-28T09:24:46","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T14:24:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/coastwatch\/?p=32904"},"modified":"2026-03-06T08:47:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-06T13:47:16","slug":"winter-2026-leaking-landfills","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/coastwatch\/winter-2026-leaking-landfills\/","title":{"rendered":"Leaking Landfills"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n
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Increasingly frequent extreme weather events flush contaminants — including landfill leachate — into coastal waterways.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

When the garbage truck whisks household waste away from your curb, your trash ends up in a municipal landfill. The EPA regulates the location of landfill sites to protect both humans and the environment from contamination. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, sanitation engineers place the waste in a clay and plastic-lined pit and compact it with layers of dirt to contain any potential leaks. However, no system is perfect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Landfill liners still sometimes leak, releasing \u201cleachate.\u201d As rainwater falls and percolates through compacted waste and comes into contact with the buried garbage, the water leaches, or draws out different nutrients from the trash. If the landfill liner doesn\u2019t contain the leachate, liquid waste can make its way into surrounding rivers and groundwater, with potentially serious environmental impacts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

El Moore\u2019s new study is especially timely as more frequent severe weather flushes contaminants into waterways. Moore, a Mountains to Sea Fellow with North Carolina Sea Grant and the NC Water Resources Research Institute, is using fluorescence to identify how much landfill leachate is present in tributary streams in the Neuse and Tar-Pamlico watersheds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"image:<\/a>
On the Neuse River at Minnesott Beach. Credit: NCSU Photos<\/em>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>Nitrogen in Nutrient-Sensitive Waters <\/h4>\n\n\n\n

One of the main chemicals leachate contains is nitrogen, which on its own is not harmful. \u201cEverything needs nitrogen to live,\u201d says Moore. \u201cIf it was just a tiny bit getting in, it might not be a water quality concern.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, nitrogen becomes problematic when too much<\/em> is present. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Drinking water with a high concentration of nitrogen disrupts the transportation of oxygen through the bloodstream. According to the US Geological Survey, infants under 4 months are at the highest risk because they lack the enzyme needed to reverse the decrease in oxygen, resulting in what is commonly known as \u201cblue baby syndrome.\u201d While most adults are not at a high risk for adverse effects, pregnancy and health conditions that increase the body\u2019s demand for oxygen increase those risks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Excess nitrogen can also lead to excessive growth of algae and aquatic plants. These \u201cblooms\u201d deplete the supply of oxygen for inhabitants and prevent sunlight and heat from reaching deeper waters. In some cases, the blooms can even be dangerous (as \u201charmful algal blooms\u201d or HABs) for people and pets who come in contact with the water. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Neuse and Tar-Pamlico Rivers both are \u201cnutrient sensitive waterways,\u201d according to the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality. Given these rivers\u2019 high amounts of dissolved nutrients, including nitrogen, leachate entering the system could worsen existing nutrient issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/a>
A tributary meets the Pamlico River outside Washington in Beaufort County, NC. Credit: NCSU Photos<\/em>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>Fluorescence as a Fingerprint <\/h4>\n\n\n\n

In addition to leachate, there are many sources of excess nutrients in both watersheds, Moore says, including the surrounding wetlands, street runoff, and agricultural runoff, to name a few. So, how do the researchers know that it is leachate specifically affecting the water? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ultraviolet fluorescence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When ultraviolet light hits chemicals, they absorb some of the energy from the light waves and begin to glow. According to Moore, different chemicals absorb different amounts of energy, and, therefore, give off different amounts of light.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur model uses this fluorescence as a sort of fingerprint,\u201d says Moore. Because Moore already knows the concentration of chemicals in each type of contaminant, the model matches the amount of light given off to the source and identifies which contaminants are present in the water sample.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moore is sampling a handful of smaller rivers and culverts (tunnels or pipes that allow water to flow underneath roads), all of which are tributaries in the Neuse or Tar-Pamlico watershed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Preliminary results from the study show that 20% of the water samples Moore took have a make-up of at<\/em> least<\/em> 5% leachate. Samples from Jerry\u2019s Creek, near the Edgecombe County landfill, showed the most consistent and concerning results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"image:<\/a>
Crabbers on the Neuse. Credit: NCSU Photos<\/em>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAcross all sites, almost every sample appeared to have at least 1% leachate in it, according to our model,\u201d says Moore. \u201cHowever, it is hard to make a definitive statement about what it means for water quality when the concentration of leachate measures in the 1-5% range.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moore says the next steps are to finish sampling and to continue to investigate the impact of leachate on larger waterways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe main goal for everyone who works in and around these watersheds is to keep the water safe,\u201d says Moore. \u201cWe care about the phytoplankton that live there. We care about the people who recreate around there. The core of the research is to determine if this landfill leachate is a problem.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Managing Coastal Nitrogen Pollution<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Guide to Coastal Living: Algal Blooms<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ecosystem Solutions: Reducing Nutrient Load<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Safeguarding Water<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lily Soetebier<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>is a contributing editor for\u00a0Coastwatch<\/em>\u00a0and an award-winning science communicator for North Carolina Sea Grant. She is pursuing an M.S. in technical communication from North Carolina State University.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n \n
\n \n from WINTER 2026<\/span>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/svg><\/span>\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n \n\n <\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Increasingly frequent extreme weather events flush more contaminants — including landfill leachate — into coastal waters.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":63,"featured_media":32652,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ncst_custom_author":"Lily Soetebier","ncst_show_custom_author":true,"ncst_dynamicHeaderBlockName":"ncst\/default-post-header","ncst_dynamicHeaderData":"{\"showAuthor\":true,\"showDate\":true,\"showFeaturedVideo\":false,\"subtitle\":\"Measuring Leachate Contamination in the Neuse and Tar-Pamlico Watersheds<\/strong>\"}","ncst_content_audit_freq":"","ncst_content_audit_date":"","ncst_content_audit_display":false,"ncst_backToTopFlag":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_ncst_magazine_issue":[],"class_list":["post-32904","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"displayCategory":null,"acf":{"ncst_posts_meta_modified_date":null},"yoast_head":"\nLeaking Landfills - 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