The City of Los Angeles (City) Lopez Canyon Sanitary Landfill was recently expanded to meet the City’s municipal solid waste (MSW) disposal needs. The expansion occurred in a natural canyon graded to provide a relatively flat base with steep benched side slopes. On the side slopes at Lopez Canyon, the use of the prescribed composite liner system in California and federal regulations was not feasible due to the steepness of the slopes. As a result, an alternative desjgn composed of geosynthetic elements was adopted and implemented. A geosynthetic clay liner (GCL) was used instead of the compacted low-permeability soil to form the lower component of the composite liner. Leachate drainage capacity was provided by use of a geonet overlain by a geotextile filter on top of the geomembrane. The leachate containment capability of the geosynthetic alternative liner system was shown to exceed that of the prescribed liner system, thereby satisfying regulatory requirements for alternative designs.
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