Controlling leakage through installed geomembranes using electrical leak location

Installed geomembranes typically contain holes, which can be located for repair in most cases using electrical leak location (ELL) technologies. It is of special interest to quantify the likelihood that a geomembrane has holes, the impact of such holes with respect to a facility's expected performance, and subsequent remedial actions. In addition to providing a summary of research to date on these topics, the aim of this paper is to answer these questions with modern case studies, contextual hole frequency statistics and a recapitulation and reexamination of leakage data from double-lined landfills. Finally, the physics of electrical leak location technology is explained in order to illustrate the capabilities and limitations of the methods as well as to provide guidelines for maximizing the effectiveness of the technologies.