A geomembrane is very low permeability synthetic membrane liner or barrier used with any geotechnical engineering related material so as to control fluid (or gas) migration in a human-made project, structure, or system. Geomembranes are made from relatively thin continuous polymeric sheets, but they can also be made from the impregnation of geotextiles with asphalt, elastomer or polymer sprays, or as multilayered bitumen geocomposites. Continuous polymer sheet geomembranes are, by far, the most common.

• • High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE)
• • Linear Low-Density Polyethylene (LLDPE)
• • Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC)
• • Flexible Polypropylene (fPP)
• • Chlorosulfonated Polyethylene (CSPE)
• • Ethylene Propylene Diene Terpolymer (EPDM)

Geomembranes have been used in the following environmental, geotechnical, hydraulic, transportation, and private development applications:

• • As liners for potable water
• • As liners for reserve water (e.g., safe shutdown of nuclear facilities)
• • As liners for waste liquids (e.g., sewage sludge)
• • Liners for radioactive or hazardous waste liquid
• • As liners for secondary containment of underground storage tanks
• • As liners for solar ponds
• • As liners for brine solutions
• • As liners for the agriculture industry
• • As liners for the aquiculture industry, such as fish/shrimp pond
• • As liners for golf course water holes and sand bunkers
• • As liners for all types of decorative and architectural ponds
• • As liners for water conveyance canals
• • As liners for various waste conveyance canals
• • As liners for primary, secondary, and/or tertiary solid-waste landfills and waste piles
• • As liners for heap leach pads
• • As covers (caps) for solid-waste landfills
• • As covers for aerobic and anaerobic manure digesters in the agriculture industry
• • As covers for power plant coal ash
• • As liners for vertical walls: single or double with leak detection
• • As cutoffs within zoned earth dams for seepage control
• • As linings for emergency spillways
• • As waterproofing liners within tunnels and pipelines
• • As waterproof facing of earth and rockfill dams
• • As waterproof facing for roller compacted concrete dams
• • As waterproof facing for masonry and concrete dams
• • Within cofferdams for seepage control
• • As floating reservoirs for seepage control
• • As floating reservoir covers for preventing pollution
• • To contain and transport liquids in trucks
• • To contain and transport potable water and other liquids in the ocean
• • As a barrier to odors from landfills
• • As a barrier to vapors (radon, hydrocarbons, etc.) beneath buildings
• • To control expansive soils
• • To control frost-susceptible soils
• • To shield sinkhole-susceptible areas from flowing water
• • To prevent infiltration of water in sensitive areas
• • To form barrier tubes as dams
• • To face structural supports as temporary cofferdams
• • To conduct water flow into preferred paths
• • Beneath highways to prevent pollution from deicing salts
• • Beneath and adjacent to highways to capture hazardous liquid spills
• • As containment structures for temporary surcharges
• • To aid in establishing uniformity of subsurface compressibility and subsidence
• • Beneath asphalt overlays as a waterproofing layer
• • To contain seepage losses in existing above-ground tanks
• • As flexible forms where loss of material cannot be allowed.