Waste management in Europe has improved in recent years, reducing the amount of waste disposed at landfills. However, there are still many landfills in the countries. It is well known that landfills that do not have measures in place to control leachate entering groundwater can contaminate groundwater long after the landfill is closed. Collecting monitoring results from all landfills allows permitting and management agencies to improve action plans. This relies on a synoptic risk assessment that allows prioritization and milestones to be set for required actions. The developed method of synoptic risk assessment is based on a conceptual model of the landfill and the results of chemical groundwater monitoring tested at 69 landfills in Slovenia. The study confirms that most landfills have a direct or indirect impact on groundwater quality. All landfills were classified into three priority classes on the basis of the synoptic risk assessment. The results show that a total of 24 landfills have a clearly pronounced impact on groundwater. A total of 31 landfills have a less pronounced impact due to the favorable natural attenuation capacity of the soil or the technically appropriate design of the landfill itself. A total of 14 landfills have a less pronounced or negligible impact on groundwater.

Groundwater flow and heat distribution was investigated in the regional karstic-fissured aquifer-aquitard system near Lake Bled in the Slovenian, eastern Julian Alps. The area features thermal springs with temperatures of 19–23 °C which are exploited by abstraction wells. The occurrence of low-temperature geothermal systems, which are common in the Alps, are associated with specific hydrogeological conditions, such as vertical hydraulic connectivity between different geological formations, relatively large elevation differences along flow paths, and the concentrated upwelling of geothermal water to the surface. The occurrence of the low-temperature geothermal field is explained by the presence of a hydraulically conductive fault along with a regional groundwater flow pattern that supports deep groundwater circulation. Hydraulic measurements and temperature data were collected from springs and wells in the area to support the analysis of flow patterns, together with the construction of a basin-scale 2D numerical flow and heat transport simulation. The diverse topographic and geological conditions result in a multi-scale groundwater flow system. The discharge of thermal waters in the Lake Bled area is a consequence of the upwelling of deep groundwater induced by a combination of the ~ 650 m difference in hydraulic head and hydrogeological heterogeneity and anisotropy, related to faulting of the geological formations. In addition, individual flow subsystems were found to significantly affect the natural heat distribution and travel times within the basin-scale system. The study highlights the combination of a basin scale approach taking into consideration local to regional-scale heterogeneities and faults in order to better understand the hydrogeological behaviour of Alpine groundwater systems.

The Alps represent an area where many deep groundwater circulations occur as thermal springs. In the Bled case study, the thermal water temperature, at it is discharged to the surface, is between 19–23 °C. In order to determine the extent (e.g., geometry) and the origin of the pronounced deep circulation system in the Bled area, chemical and isotopic measurements of waters from different hydrogeological systems were performed (e.g., surface water, thermal water, fresh groundwater). Hydrogeochemical methods were used to tie together the above-mentioned parameters. The results have shown that thermal outflow in Bled is determined by the presence of a deep-water circulation system, where the dissolution of carbonates minerals is the main hydrogeochemical process affecting chemical components of natural water flow. The correlation of the major ions suggests that the recharge area is represented by both limestone and dolomite rocks. Moreover, the results of δ¹⁸O and δ²H of all samples indicate that the recharge is mainly meteoric precipitation. The recharge altitude was estimated for two sampled fresh groundwater springs. The isotopic compositions of those two springs suggest the range from δ¹⁸O = −8.68‰, δ²H = −57.4‰ at an elevation of 629 m to δ¹⁸O = −9.30‰, δ²H = −60.1‰ at an elevation of 1216 m. The isotopic analysis has confirmed that the thermal water recharges from altitudes of 1282–1620 m a.s.l.

Slope stability strongly depends on the prevailing hydrological and hydrogeological conditions. The amount and intensity of precipitation and changing groundwater levels are important landslide triggering factors. Environmental tracers, including the chemical and stable isotope compositions of precipitation and groundwater, were used to gain insight into the groundwater dynamics of the Urbas landslide. The landslide is situated in a mountainous area with steep slopes and high precipitation amount and poses a high risk for the safety of the Koroška Bela settlement that lies downstream. The stable isotope analyses of oxygen-18 (¹⁸O) and deuterium (²H) in the precipitation and groundwater were used to estimate the groundwater mean residence time and the average altitude of the landslide recharge area. This information will help to plan and prioritize remedial landslide measures aiming to reduce the recharge of the landslide body and, thus, lower the risk of transformation of the sliding material into debris flow. The results of the chemical analysis of samples taken from springs and a piezometer show a Ca–HCO₃ water type. This indicates low water–rock interaction in a landslide area composed of Upper Carboniferous and Permian clastic rocks and points to upper laying carbonate rocks and scree deposits as the main recharge area. Water samples for stable isotope analyses of δ¹⁸O and δ²H were collected from a rain gauge, springs, and a piezometer over a two-year period (2018–2020). The estimated mean recharge altitude of the groundwater at sampling points was from approximately 1700 to 1800 m a.s.l. with a mean residence time of 2–5 months.

Waste disposal in landfills represents a severe threat to aquatic environments on the local, regional, and global levels. In Slovenia, there are 69 registered landfills where groundwater is regularly monitored. However, isotope techniques are not regularly employed. Therefore, we employed isotope analysis of hydrogen, carbon, and oxygen in combination with total alkalinity to assess the impact of the selected landfill on groundwater and to evaluate the biogeochemical processes at work. The δ18O, δ2H, δ13CDIC, 3H activity and total alkalinity were determined in October 2020 at 12 sampling points from the surrounding area of the Gajke and Brstje landfills and leachate from the Gajke landfill. The δ18O (-9.24 ± 0.3 ‰) and δ2H (-64.9 ± 2.7 ‰) in groundwater indicate that the main water source consists in direct infiltration of precipitation, with no significant isotopic fractionation. Total alkalinity in the investigated area ranges from 5.45 to 73 mM and δ13CDIC from –14.9 to +6.1 ‰, respectively. Higher values of total alkalinity (up to 73 mM), δ13CDIC (up to +6.1 ‰), δ18O (-7.64 ‰) and 3H (209.8 TU) are detected in the leachate, indicating biogeochemical process related to CO2 reduction or methanogenesis. Methanogenesis could be present at locations GAP-10/13 (Brstje landfill) and G-2 (Gajke landfill) with δ13CDIC values ranging from –8.2 to –7.6 ‰ and with dissolved oxygen values around 0 % and elevated 3H values (from 16 to 18 TU). This study demonstrates the effectiveness of isotopic analysis as a valuable tool for monitoring landfills, revealing shifts in biogeochemical processes within the groundwater there.