Impact of Coal Mining on Water Quality

Abstract

Water is one the basic needs of the mining industry. All the operations of mining, directly or indirectly require water for their functioning. The mining industry has been utilizing water carelessly without anticipating the negative impacts it is having on the ecology and the biodiversity of the region. Acid mine drainage has become a common phenomenon associated with mining. Deaths and diseases caused by contaminated water has roused concerns everywhere. The critical situation requires carrying out water analysis of all the water bodies in and around the mines to determine the source, cause, effect and remedies of the different contaminants and pollutants. This is also a part of the corporate social responsibility that the mining industry has pledged to. This also helps in reassuring the people of the pro-development motives of the mining industry. Experimental The samples are collected from two different coal mining regions, IB Valley and Talcher area, of the state of Odisha. The analysis was carried out to find the effect, coal mining activities were having on the water quality of the mines. The purpose was also to compare the effects on the water quality of the two different mines from different regions. The parameters that were determined for this purpose are temperature, pH, conductivity, TDS, DO, BOD, turbidity, acidity, sulphates, phosphates, sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium and other trace metals....