Bentofix® as an effective solution to permanently keep out and eliminate contaminated water

There was a special beach contamination in the area of the swimming beach Dreiweibener See in Lohsa, Germany. The groundwater pressed acidic and ferruginous water into the beach. An effective short-term solution was searched that would permanently keep this polluted water away and eliminate it. After testing three methods of approach on test fields, the decision was to use the geosynthetic clay liner (GCL) Bentofix®. Bentofix® GCLs are needle-punched, reinforced composites that combine two durable geotextile outer layers and a uniform core of high-swelling powder sodium bentonite clay which can be used for sealing against liquids and gases in various applications. The advantage of this solution was that Bentofix® GCLs could be installed quickly and cost-effectively. That made a significant reduction of the total costs possible. First, the water level was lowered, and a part of the sand was removed. A layer of drainage gravel was placed on the exposed beach subsoil. Bentofix® GCLs were rolled out and then covered with sand. With thus solution swimming activities could be restarted before the beginning of the swimming season.