The LBCI team headed to the Naameh landfill to discover a multifaceted disaster. The process of extracting waste leachate, the liquid generated by the accumulation of waste in the Naameh landfill, has stopped for about two weeks. This means that if it's not removed, there's a danger of contaminating groundwater.
This leachate usually accumulates at the bottom of the landfill and is collected in five tanks. It is then transported through tankers to the Ghadir sewage treatment plant for purification.
However, the tanks at the Naameh landfill have reached their extreme capacity, and the tankers have been prohibited from emptying the leachate into the Ghadir plant by the Union of Dahieh Municipalities.
The Ghadir plant, which belongs to the Beirut and Mount Lebanon Water Establishment, has been completely shut down since April 2022 due to the lack of electricity caused by the depletion of diesel fuel and the inability to secure more.
The leachate from the Naameh landfill has been dumped directly and unchecked into a large gully adjacent to the Ghadir plant, consequently flowing into the Ouzai Sea.
Sources closely following the matter revealed to LBCI that this gully is not subject to any regulation and that the dumping activities are not limited to the leachate from the Naameh landfill alone. Sewage tankers also unload their contents into this gully, sometimes up to thirty tankers a day.
This prompted local authorities to seal the gully with concrete permanently.
So, Why Do Leachate Tankers Resort to Dumping in the Gully?
The Council for Development and Reconstruction (CDR) states that a signed agreement between them and the company responsible for maintaining and guarding the Naameh landfill includes an initial treatment of the leachate within the landfill facilities, followed by its transfer in tankers to the Ghadir purification station.
The company, however, confirmed to LBCI that they've repeatedly tried to communicate with the CDR to find a solution and determine where the Leatchate could be transferred. Unfortunately, they received no response.
As for the Ghadir plant's closure, it was not permissible to empty any waste liquids into the gully even when it was operational.
The issue of the Naameh landfill leachate is being addressed, according to the CDR. Nasser Yassin, Caretaker Minister of Environment, has intervened and is working on temporary solutions with the relevant parties to transport the Naameh leachate to other treatment facilities.
Since leachate from landfills is present in various locations across Lebanon, for instance, in the Costa Brava landfill, which is also under the authority of the CDR, there is a dedicated treatment plant for leachate. So, why did the CDR opt to unload Naameh leachate into the Ghadir Gully instead of transporting it to specialized facilities in other landfills? A question that begs an answer.