Ecological and geochemical impact of an underground colliery waste discharge to a river

K. G. Morrison; J. K. Reynolds; N. Belmer; I. A. Wright

doi:10.1088/1755-1315/344/1/012003

Ecological and geochemical impact of an underground colliery waste discharge to a river

K. G. Morrison
, J. K. Reynolds
, N. Belmer
, I. A. Wright

Research output: Chapter in Book / Conference Paper › Conference Paper › peer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

This study investigated the impact of mine wastewater disposal to a nearby river (the Bargo River). Mean electrical conductivity (EC) increased in surface waters below the mine discharge, rising more than six times from (219.5 Î¼S/cm) upstream to 1551 Î¼S/cm below the waste inflow. River pH increased from 7.12 (upstream) to 8.67 (downstream). The mine discharge strongly modified the ionic composition of the river. The mean concentration of several metals in the river were increased due to the mine wastewater. Nickel increased from 1.0 Î¼g/L (upstream) to 32 Î¼g/L (downstream). Zinc increased from 3.5 Î¼g/L (upstream) to 23.5 Î¼g/L (downstream). Our study also assessed the biological uptake of pollutants by growing weeping willow (Salix babylonica) cuttings in mine wastewater and contrasting to 'control' cuttings grown in river water from upstream of the mine. After growing in the laboratory for several weeks, the cuttings accumulated metals, dominated by barium, strontium and lithium. Results from the study constituted one of the most detailed geochemical and ecological studies investigating the impact of the coal mine waste discharge to an Australian river. Recommendations are suggested for improved regulation of the mine discharge to reduce its wastewater environmental impact.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science. Volume 344, The 5th International Conference on Water Resource and Environment (WRE 2019), 16-19 July 2019, Macao, China
Publisher	IOP Publishing
Number of pages	7
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/344/1/012003
Publication status	Published - 2019
Event	International Conference on Water Resource and Environment - Duration: 16 Jul 2019 → …

Publication series

Name
ISSN (Print)	1755-1315

Conference

Conference	International Conference on Water Resource and Environment
Period	16/07/19 → …

Open Access - Access Right Statement

Content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/au/). Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work_journal citation and DOI.

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 6 Clean Water and Sanitation

Keywords

Australia
coal mine waste
coal mines and mining
pollution
rivers
waste disposal
water

Access to Document

10.1088/1755-1315/344/1/012003

Cite this

Morrison, K. G., Reynolds, J. K., Belmer, N., & Wright, I. A. (2019). Ecological and geochemical impact of an underground colliery waste discharge to a river. In IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science. Volume 344, The 5th International Conference on Water Resource and Environment (WRE 2019), 16-19 July 2019, Macao, China IOP Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/344/1/012003

@inproceedings{07fbf7b13d754249a86a2602fe390c27,

title = "Ecological and geochemical impact of an underground colliery waste discharge to a river",

abstract = "This study investigated the impact of mine wastewater disposal to a nearby river (the Bargo River). Mean electrical conductivity (EC) increased in surface waters below the mine discharge, rising more than six times from (219.5 {\^I}¼S/cm) upstream to 1551 {\^I}¼S/cm below the waste inflow. River pH increased from 7.12 (upstream) to 8.67 (downstream). The mine discharge strongly modified the ionic composition of the river. The mean concentration of several metals in the river were increased due to the mine wastewater. Nickel increased from 1.0 {\^I}¼g/L (upstream) to 32 {\^I}¼g/L (downstream). Zinc increased from 3.5 {\^I}¼g/L (upstream) to 23.5 {\^I}¼g/L (downstream). Our study also assessed the biological uptake of pollutants by growing weeping willow (Salix babylonica) cuttings in mine wastewater and contrasting to 'control' cuttings grown in river water from upstream of the mine. After growing in the laboratory for several weeks, the cuttings accumulated metals, dominated by barium, strontium and lithium. Results from the study constituted one of the most detailed geochemical and ecological studies investigating the impact of the coal mine waste discharge to an Australian river. Recommendations are suggested for improved regulation of the mine discharge to reduce its wastewater environmental impact.",

keywords = "Australia, coal mine waste, coal mines and mining, pollution, rivers, waste disposal, water",

author = "Morrison, \{K. G.\} and Reynolds, \{J. K.\} and N. Belmer and Wright, \{I. A.\}",

year = "2019",

doi = "10.1088/1755-1315/344/1/012003",

language = "English",

publisher = "IOP Publishing",

booktitle = "IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science. Volume 344, The 5th International Conference on Water Resource and Environment (WRE 2019), 16-19 July 2019, Macao, China",

note = "International Conference on Water Resource and Environment ; Conference date: 16-07-2019",

}

Morrison, KG, Reynolds, JK, Belmer, N & Wright, IA 2019, Ecological and geochemical impact of an underground colliery waste discharge to a river. in IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science. Volume 344, The 5th International Conference on Water Resource and Environment (WRE 2019), 16-19 July 2019, Macao, China. IOP Publishing, International Conference on Water Resource and Environment, 16/07/19. https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/344/1/012003

Ecological and geochemical impact of an underground colliery waste discharge to a river. / Morrison, K. G.; Reynolds, J. K.; Belmer, N. et al.
IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science. Volume 344, The 5th International Conference on Water Resource and Environment (WRE 2019), 16-19 July 2019, Macao, China. IOP Publishing, 2019.

Research output: Chapter in Book / Conference Paper › Conference Paper › peer-review

TY - GEN

T1 - Ecological and geochemical impact of an underground colliery waste discharge to a river

AU - Morrison, K. G.

AU - Reynolds, J. K.

AU - Belmer, N.

AU - Wright, I. A.

PY - 2019

Y1 - 2019

N2 - This study investigated the impact of mine wastewater disposal to a nearby river (the Bargo River). Mean electrical conductivity (EC) increased in surface waters below the mine discharge, rising more than six times from (219.5 Î¼S/cm) upstream to 1551 Î¼S/cm below the waste inflow. River pH increased from 7.12 (upstream) to 8.67 (downstream). The mine discharge strongly modified the ionic composition of the river. The mean concentration of several metals in the river were increased due to the mine wastewater. Nickel increased from 1.0 Î¼g/L (upstream) to 32 Î¼g/L (downstream). Zinc increased from 3.5 Î¼g/L (upstream) to 23.5 Î¼g/L (downstream). Our study also assessed the biological uptake of pollutants by growing weeping willow (Salix babylonica) cuttings in mine wastewater and contrasting to 'control' cuttings grown in river water from upstream of the mine. After growing in the laboratory for several weeks, the cuttings accumulated metals, dominated by barium, strontium and lithium. Results from the study constituted one of the most detailed geochemical and ecological studies investigating the impact of the coal mine waste discharge to an Australian river. Recommendations are suggested for improved regulation of the mine discharge to reduce its wastewater environmental impact.

AB - This study investigated the impact of mine wastewater disposal to a nearby river (the Bargo River). Mean electrical conductivity (EC) increased in surface waters below the mine discharge, rising more than six times from (219.5 Î¼S/cm) upstream to 1551 Î¼S/cm below the waste inflow. River pH increased from 7.12 (upstream) to 8.67 (downstream). The mine discharge strongly modified the ionic composition of the river. The mean concentration of several metals in the river were increased due to the mine wastewater. Nickel increased from 1.0 Î¼g/L (upstream) to 32 Î¼g/L (downstream). Zinc increased from 3.5 Î¼g/L (upstream) to 23.5 Î¼g/L (downstream). Our study also assessed the biological uptake of pollutants by growing weeping willow (Salix babylonica) cuttings in mine wastewater and contrasting to 'control' cuttings grown in river water from upstream of the mine. After growing in the laboratory for several weeks, the cuttings accumulated metals, dominated by barium, strontium and lithium. Results from the study constituted one of the most detailed geochemical and ecological studies investigating the impact of the coal mine waste discharge to an Australian river. Recommendations are suggested for improved regulation of the mine discharge to reduce its wastewater environmental impact.

KW - Australia

KW - coal mine waste

KW - coal mines and mining

KW - pollution

KW - rivers

KW - waste disposal

KW - water

UR - http://hdl.handle.net/1959.7/uws:53466

U2 - 10.1088/1755-1315/344/1/012003

DO - 10.1088/1755-1315/344/1/012003

M3 - Conference Paper

BT - IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science. Volume 344, The 5th International Conference on Water Resource and Environment (WRE 2019), 16-19 July 2019, Macao, China

PB - IOP Publishing

T2 - International Conference on Water Resource and Environment

Y2 - 16 July 2019

ER -

Morrison KG, Reynolds JK, Belmer N, Wright IA. Ecological and geochemical impact of an underground colliery waste discharge to a river. In IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science. Volume 344, The 5th International Conference on Water Resource and Environment (WRE 2019), 16-19 July 2019, Macao, China. IOP Publishing. 2019 doi: 10.1088/1755-1315/344/1/012003

Ecological and geochemical impact of an underground colliery waste discharge to a river

Abstract

Publication series

Conference

Open Access - Access Right Statement

UN SDGs

Keywords

Access to Document

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