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Learn about mine water
The Coal Authority manages more than 70 mine water treatment schemes across Britain, handling and treating over 122 billion litres of mine water every year.
This water is cleaned and discharged in to rivers or other water bodies. It is a resource that has an ability to be used in many different ways, dependent on the chemical composition and the requirements of the application.
How can mine water be used?
- Mine water has an ability to support water requirements within the agricultural and horticultural industry.
- It can be used to provide feed water, for mineral washing or concrete plants, and can act as a source of process water for industrial applications.
- With further treatment, mine water can also be used to support drinking water provision in water scarce catchments.
Facts about mine water
- Our mine water treatment schemes generally run 24 hours per day 365 days per year providing a continuous and consistent source of water throughout the year.
- We have extensive chemical data on our water and monitor at regular intervals for each of our sites.
- Approximately 30% of our sites discharge water of purity to typical fresh river water