ABSTRACTStudies at three solid‐waste disposal sites in the Anchorage area suggest that differences in local geohydrologic conditions influence ground‐water quality. A leachate was detected in ground water within and beneath two sites where the water table is very near land surface and refuse is deposited either at or below the water table in some parts of the filled areas. No leachate was detected in ground water beneath a third site where waste disposal is well above the local water ta