Abstract
This study examined two underground coal mines in the Sydney basin and investigated the water chemistry impact from their wastewater discharges to surface receiving waters. One mine closed 17 years prior to the study, and the other was still active. The geology of both mine locations shared many similarities and some important differences that influenced their wastewater chemistry and its subsequent impact on receiving waterways. Water quality of wastewater discharges from the two mines and their receiving waterways was investigated over a 6-month period. Both mine discharges caused comprehensive modification to receiving water chemistry. The closed mine increased electrical conductivity (EC) 3.3 times from upstream (33 μS/cm) compared to downstream (108 μS/cm). In comparison, the active mine increased EC by 9.4 times (173 μS/cm) upstream to 1628 μS/cm downstream. Both coal mine wastes increased the concentration of different contaminants to levels that are potentially hazardous for receiving water ecosystems. The active mine increased bicarbonate concentration in the receiving water by more than 60 times to 743 mg/L. The closed mine increased zinc and nickel concentrations in its receiving stream by 70 and 20 times to 318 and 360 μg/L. The active coal mine discharge was dominated by sodium and bicarbonate ions compared to magnesium and sulphate ions in the closed mine drainage. Although both receiving waters were sodium and chloride dominated upstream of the mine waste, their ionic composition was strongly modified due to the inflow of coal mine wastes. Results from this study are a reminder that water pollution from coal mines is important for both active mines and for closed mines decades after mining activity ceases.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
APHA (American Public Health Association). (1998). Standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater (20th ed.). Washington, DC: American Public Health Association.
ANZECC (Australian and New Zealand Environment and Conservation Council) and ARMCANZ (Agriculture and Resource Management Council of Australia and New Zealand). (2000). Australian and New Zealand guidelines for fresh and marine waters. National Water Quality Management Strategy Paper No. 4. Canberra: Australian and New Zealand Environment and Conservation Council/ Agriculture and Resource Management Council of Australia and New Zealand.
Ayers, G. P., & Gillett, R. W. (1984). Some observations on the acidity and composition of rainfall in Sydney, Australia, during the summer of 1980-1981. Journal of Atmospheric Chemistry, 2, 25–46.
Banks, D., Younger, P. L., Arnesen, R.-T., Iversen, E. R., & Banks, S. B. (1997). Mine-water chemistry: the good, the bad and the ugly. Environmental Geology, 32, 157–174.
Battaglia, M., Hose, G. C., Turak, E., & Warden, B. (2005). Depauperate macroinvertebrates in a mine affected stream: clean water may be the key to recovery. Environmental Pollution, 138, 132–141.
Belmer, N., Tippler, C., Davies, P. J., & Wright, I. A. (2014). Impact of a coal mine waste discharge on water quality and aquatic ecosystems in the Blue Mountains World Heritage Area. In G. Viets, I. D. Rutherfurd, & R. Hughes (Eds.), Proceedings of the 7th Australian Stream Management Conference (pp. 385–391). Townsville: the River Basin Management Society.
Branagan, D., Herbert, C., & Langford-Smith, T. (1979). An outline of the geology and geomorphology of the Sydney Basin. Sydney: Science Press for University of Sydney.
Brake, S. S., Connors, K. A., & Romberger, S. B. (2001). A river runs through it: impact of acid mine drainage on the geochemistry of West Little Sugar Creek pre- and post-reclamation at the Green Valley coal mine, Indiana, USA. Environmental Geology, 40, 1471–1481.
Cohen, D. (2002). Best practice mine water management at a coal mine operation in the Blue Mountains. Nepean: Masters of Engineering (Honours) Thesis, University of Western Sydney.
Coulton, R., Bullen, C., & Hallet, C. (2003). The design and optimization of active mine water treatment plants. Land Contamination Reclamation, 11, 273–9.
Davies, P. J., Wright, I. A., Jonasson, O. J., & Findlay, S. J. (2010). Impact of concrete and PVC pipes on urban water chemistry. Urban Water Journal, 7, 233–241.
EcoEngineers (2007). “Assessment of Water Quality Effects of West Cliff Colliery Longwalls 34 to 36”, Report to Cardno Forbes Rigby Pty Ltd, December. Available at: https://www.south32.net/getmedia/c2d254d1-c2b0-44ae-935c-469e55fab6a2/South32Web. Accessed 12 Apr 2016.
García-Criado, F., Tomé, A., Vega, F. J., & Antolín, C. (1999). Performance of some diversity and biotic indices in rivers affected by coal mining in northwestern Spain. Hydrobiologia, 394, 209–217.
Geary, P. (2015). ‘Disused mines blight New South Wales, yet the approvals continue’. The Conversation, 23 March 2015 Available at: (http://theconversation.com/disused-mines-blight-new-south-wales-yet-the-approvals-continue-39059)
Gibbs, R. J. (1970). Mechanisms controlling world water chemistry. Science, 170, 1088–1090.
Graham, K., & Wright, I. A. (2012). The potential and reality of the Environment Protection Licensing system in NSW: the case of water pollution. Environmental Planning Law Journal, 29, 359–372.
Gray, D. P., & Harding, J. S. (2012). Acid mine drainage index (AMDI): a benthic invertebrate biotic index for assessing coal mining impacts in New Zealand streams. New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research, 46, 335–352.
Greenfield, J. P., & Ireland, M. P. (1978). A survey of the macrofauna of a coal-waste polluted Lancashire fluvial system. Environmental Pollution, 16, 105–122.
Griffith, M. B., Norton, S. B., Alexander, L. C., Pollard, A. I., & LeDuc, S. D. (2012). The effects of mountaintop mines and valley fills on the physicochemical quality of stream ecosystems in the central Appalachians: a review. Science of the Total Environment, 417–418, 1–12.
Hart, B. T., & McKelvie, I. D. (1986). Chemical limnology in Australia. In W. D. Williams & P. De Deckker (Eds.), Limnology in Australia (pp. 3–31). CSIRO Publishing: Collingwood.
Hayes, W. J. M., & Buckney, R. T. (1995). Anthropogenic effects on the chemical characteristics of freshwater streams near Sydney Australia, during low flows. Lakes & Reservoirs: Research and Management, 1, 39–48.
Herlihy, A. T., Kaufmann, P. R., Mitch, M. E., & Brown, D. D. (1990). Regional estimates of acid mine drainage impact on streams in the mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States. Water, Air, and Soil Pollution, 50, 91–107.
Huleatt, M. B. (1991). Handbook of Australian black coals: geology, resources, seam properties and product specifications. Bureau of Mineral Resources, Geology and Geophysics. Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service.
Jarvis, A. P., & Younger, P. L. (1997). Dominating chemical factors in mine water induced impoverishment of the invertebrate fauna of two streams in the Durham Coalfield, UK. Chemistry and Ecology, 13, 249–270.
Johnson, D. B. (2003). Chemical and microbiological characteristics of mineral spoils and drainage waters at abandoned coal and metal mines. Water, Air, and Soil Pollution, 3, 47–66.
Johnson, D. B., & Hallberg, K. B. (2002). Pitfalls of passive mine water treatment. Reviews in Environmental Science and Biotechnology, 1, 335–43.
Johnson, D. B., & Hallberg, K. B. (2005). Acid mine drainage remediation options: a review. Science of the Total Environment, 338, 3–14.
Judell, T. L., & Anderson, J. D. C. (1988). Investigation into the predictability of volumes and characteristics of mine waters in coal seams of the Sydney basin. 3rd International Mine Water Congress, Melbourne, Australia.
Lindberg, T. T., Bernhardt, E. S., Bier, R., Helton, A. M., Merola, R. B., Vengosh, A., & Di Giulio, R. T. (2011). Cumulative impacts of mountaintop mining on an Appalachian watershed. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 108, 20929–20934.
Macqueen, A. (2007). Back from the brink. Blue Gum Forest and the Grose Wilderness. Second Edition. Wentworth Falls: Self-Published by Andy Macqueen.
Mays, P. A., & Edwards, G. S. (2001). Comparison of heavy metal accumulation in a natural wetland and constructed wetlands receiving acid mine drainage. Ecological Engineering, 16, 487–500.
Minerals Council of Australia (2015). ‘Australia’s coal industry’. Available at: (http://www.minerals.org.au/resources/coal/)
Mudd, G. M. (2009). ‘The sustainability of mining in Australia: key production trends and their environmental implications for the future’. Research Report No RR5, Department of Civil Engineering, Monash University and Mineral Policy Institute, Revised - April 2009. Available at: (http://users.monash.edu.au/~gmudd/files/SustMining-Aust-Report-2009-Master.pdf)
Neculita, C. M., Zagury, G. J., & Bussière, B. (2007). Passive treatment of acid mine drainage in bioreactors using sulfate-reducing bacteria. Journal of Environmental Quality, 36, 1–16.
NSW EPA (2013) Variation to an environment protection licence for Endeavour Coal. Available at: (www.epa.nsw.gov.au/licensing/endeavour-coal.htm). Accessed 12 Apr 2016.
NSW EPA (2015) ‘Licensing under Protection of the Environment Operations Act’. Available at: (http://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/licensing/licencePOEO.htm)
NSW OEH Office of Environment and Heritage (2012) Chemical and ecotoxicology assessment of discharge waters from West Cliff Mine. August 2012. Available at (www.environment.nsw.gov.au/resources/air/120770WestCliff.pdf).
Nicol, C., Merrick, N.P., & Akhter, N. (2014) End-of-panel groundwater assessment for Dendrobium Longwall 9 (Area 3B) Heritage Computing Pty Ltd Report: HC2014/015 Available at: (https://www.south32.net/getmedia/892b1ffe-a22d-451e-8a95-adc78d3ae1aa/South32Web)
Palmer, M. A., Bernhardt, E. S., Schlesinger, W. H., Eshleman, K. N., Fouloula-Georgiou, E., Hendryx, M. S., Lemly, A. D., Likens, G. E., Loucks, O. L., Power, M. E., White, P. S., & Wilcock, P. R. (2010). Mountaintop mining consequences. Science, 327, 148–149.
Petty, J. T., Fulton, J. B., Strager, M. P., Merovich, G. T., Stiles, J. M., & Ziemkiewicz, P. F. (2010). Landscape indicators and thresholds of stream ecological impairment in an intensively mined Appalachian watershed. Journal of the North American Benthological Society, 29, 1292–1309.
Pond, G. J., Passmore, M. E., Borsuk, F. A., Reynolds, L., & Rose, C. J. (2008). Downstream effects of mountaintop coal mining: comparing biological conditions using family- and genus-level macroinvertebrate bioassessment tools. Journal of the North American Benthological Society, 27, 717–737.
Short, T. M., Black, J. A., & Birge, W. J. (1990). Effects of acid-mine drainage on the chemical and biological character of an alkaline headwater stream. Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicity, 19, 241–248.
Skousen, J. (1991). Anoxic limestone drains for acid mine drainage treatment. Green Lands, 21, 30–35.
Tippler, C., Wright, I. A., & Hanlon, A. (2012). Is catchment imperviousness a keystone factor degrading urban waterways? A case study from a partly urbanised catchment (Georges River, south-eastern Australia). Water, Air, and Soil Pollution, 223, 5331–5344.
Tippler, C., Wright, I. A., Davies, P. J., & Hanlon, A. (2014). The influence of concrete on the geochemical qualities of urban streams. Marine and Freshwater Research, 65, 1009–1017.
Tiwary, R. K. (2001). Environmental impact of coal mining on water regime and its management. Water, Air, and Soil Pollution, 132, 185–199.
Unger, C., Lechner, A. M., Glenn, V., Edraki, M., & Mulligan, D. (2012). Mapping and prioritising rehabilitation of abandoned mines in Australia. In Life-of-Mine Conference 2012, 10-12 July 2012. Conference Proceedings (pp. 259–266). Brisbane: AusIMM.
Vera, C. L., Hyne, R. V., Patra, R., Ramasamy, S., Pablo, F., Julli, M., & Kefford, B. J. (2014). Bicarbonate toxicity to Ceriodaphnia dubia and the freshwater shrimp Paratya australiensis and its influence on zinc toxicity. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 33, 1179–1186.
Volcich, A. (2007) A case study of an alternative approach to coal mine site water management: West Cliff Colliery NSW. Environmental Science Research Thesis. School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Wollongong.
Watten, B. J., Sibrell, P. L., & Schwartz, M. F. (2005). Acid neutralization within limestone sand reactors receiving coal mine drainage. Environmental Pollution, 137, 295–304.
Winterbourn, M. J. (1998). Insect faunas of acidic coal mine drainages in Westland, New Zealand. New Zealand Entomologist, 21, 65–72.
Wright, I. A. (2012). Coal mine ‘dewatering’ of saline wastewater into NSW streams and rivers: a growing headache for water pollution regulators. In J. R. Grove & I. D. Rutherfurd (Eds.), Proceedings of the 6th Australian Stream Management Conference, Managing for Extremes, 6-8 February, 2012 (pp. 206–213). Canberra: River Basin Management Society.
Wright, I.A., & Burgin, S. (2009a). Comparison of sewage and coal-mine wastes on stream macroinvertebrates within an otherwise clean upland catchment, south-eastern Australia. Water, Air and Soil Pollution, 204, 227-241.
Wright, I.A., & Burgin, S. (2009b). Effects of organic and heavy-metal pollution on chironomids within a pristine upland catchment. Hydrobiologia, 635, 15-25.
Wright, I.A., Davies, P.J., Jonasson, O. J., & Findlay, S.J. (2011a) A new type of water pollution: concrete drainage infrastructure and geochemical contamination of urban waters. Marine and Freshwater Research. 62: 1-7.
Wright, I.A., Wright S.A., Graham, K., & Burgin, S. (2011b) Environmental protection and management: a water pollution case study within the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area. Land Use Policy, 28, 353-360.
Wright, I. A., Belmer, N., Price, P., & McCarthy, B. (2015). Subsidence from an underground coal mine and mine wastewater discharge causing water pollution and degradation of aquatic ecosystems. Water, Air, and Soil Pollution, 226, 236–348.
Wright I.A., & Ryan M.M. (2016) Impact of mining and industrial pollution on stream macroinvertebrates: importance of taxonomic resolution, water geochemistry and EPT indices for impact detection. Hydrobiologia. doi:10.1007/s10750-016-2644-7.
Younger, P. L. (1993). Pc collieries in County Durham. Water Environment Journal, 7, 521–531.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Price, P., Wright, I.A. Water Quality Impact from the Discharge of Coal Mine Wastes to Receiving Streams: Comparison of Impacts from an Active Mine with a Closed Mine. Water Air Soil Pollut 227, 155 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-016-2854-7
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-016-2854-7