Is leachate damaging if it seeps into the groundwater?
A. Yes, it may be, depending upon the nature of the local geology. If the contaminated water is far from any spring or other use of the groundwater this may not have any impact. Frequently, natural processes will themselves remove contaminants while still in the ground. Nevertheless, leachate contaminants of groundwater can be very damaging under certain circumstances, and groundwater contaminating discharges are not permissible in many countries, including Europe under EU Directives.
