Forensic Geotechnical, Hydrological and Hydrogeological Analysis of Instability Phenomena Occurred at a Waste Management Centre

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One part of what is generally called Environmental Geotechnics is related to natural hazards, such as landslides. But often, landslides are not 100% natural and a significant contribution to their occurrence is brought by man-made activities. The paper presents a complex geotechnical, hydrological, and hydrogeological forensic analysis for instability phenomena that occurred on the slopes of a Waste Management Centre (WMC). The ground in the WMC area is composed of marl deposits (Pannonian age) with sometimes small millimetric and sub millimetric sand formations with a general slope. Above the marl deposits there are quaternary deposits composed of clay, silty and sandy clay formation of 1 15 m thickness and of sand and gravel in clayey matrix unevenly distributed on the area, followed by silty and sandy clays. The geological, morphological, and topographical model along with the climatic characteristics of the area imposed the hydrological and runoff settings. The landslides were triggered by the civil works on site, corroborated to the natural settings and they have developed in several stages, for which various consolidation works have been carried out. Insufficient initial investigation has been performed, not adapted to the sites geotechnical and hydrogeological specific. The forensic analysis was meant to explain the phenomena that occurred on site and their cause, including the decision if the landslides were of an unpredictable nature. The study presents the results of the thorough forensic investigations, the developed geological, hydrogeological, and topographical models, measurements in unsaturated conditions, explains the phenomena occurred on site and the errors in the design, leading to the final conclusions and lessons learned.

9th International Congress on Environmental Geotechnics (ICEG2023)

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