In secured landfill sites, accurate prediction of leachate volume is essential for stable operation and environmental management purposes. In this study, a tank model was developed using meteorological and operational data to predict seasonal variation in leachate volume. To improve estimation accuracy, the model also incorporates snow accumulation and snowmelt processes. Although the tank model is relatively simple, it demonstrates good performance in simulating leachate volume trends based on weather data. By incorporating snow-related hydrological processes, the correlation coefficient between the estimated and measured leachate volumes during winter and early spring improved significantly, from 0.15 to 0.72. The annual leachate volumes estimated using the model showed over 90% agreement with the measured values, confirming the model’s validity. The results also indicate that refining the estimation of evapotranspiration could further enhance prediction accuracy. This approach provides a practical and accessible tool for the daily management of landfill operations under varying climatic conditions.
YAMANO et al. (2026) studied this question.