Hydrochemical Stratification in Flooded Underground Mines: An Overlooked Pitfall

Hydrochemical Stratification in Flooded Underground Mines: An Overlooked Pitfall			2004
Author(s): Nuttall, C.A. (Univ. of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK); P.L. Younger		Journal of Contaminant Hydrology, Vol 69 No 1-2, p 101-114, 2004
Mine: Frances Colliery, Scotland	Waste Type: water	Contaminant(s):	Technology Type: sampling
Keywords: water stratification, mine shafts, treatment systems
Abstract: Water samples taken from the water surface in partly flooded mine shafts are often wrongly assumed to represent the water quality existing throughout the entire water column because the personnel who design the sampling program or take the samples are unaware that flooded underground mines usually are hydrochemically stratified. In some cases, treatment systems have been designed on the basis of misleading water surface samples. This paper discusses mine conditions that can lead to the development of water stratification and then points out that such stratification can easily change following hydraulic disturbance of the system, either by pumping or by natural decant when the water level reaches an outflow pathway from the mine system, such as an old adit or shaft collar. Test pumping of a stratified system at Frances Colliery in Scotland has provided useful information about how stratified systems develop and how they can behave when disturbed.
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