A new waste management facility on the outskirts of Drummondville needed to handle over 200,000 tonnes of municipal waste annually, sitting on a thick layer of marine clay typical of the St. Lawrence Lowlands. The first step was a thorough investigation: test pits, boreholes, and laboratory testing to map the subsurface stratigraphy and measure the clay's compressibility. Without understanding these conditions, the liner system and leachate collection network would be risky. That is where landfill geotechnics comes in — a specialized field that evaluates bearing capacity, settlement potential, and barrier integrity for waste containment cells. Before placing any geomembrane, the team ran consolidation tests and checked the permeability in laboratory to confirm the clay liner would meet regulatory hydraulic conductivity targets. The goal was to build a cell that would perform for decades without leaking.
Landfill geotechnics in Drummondville's marine clay requires careful settlement analysis and staged waste placement to prevent liner distress.