A containment material for a containment system to provide protection against the diffusion of contaminants in a containment area. A structured felt geotextile surface layer is joined with a geomembrane barrier layer to form a lamination. The geomembrane barrier layer is substantially impervious to liquid diffusion. The structured felt geotextile surface layer comprises a needle-punched, non-woven felt with an upper surface structured to have a surface pattern of peaks and valleys. A containment system is formed from a plurality of strips of containment material joined by liquid-impervious bonds to provide coverage to the containment area. A process for forming a containment material comprises providing a structured felt geotextile layer formed with first and second needling operations to produce a surface pattern and a liquid impervious geomembrane barrier layer and joining the layers to form a lamination.