Environmental geochemistry and quality assessment of mine water of Jharia coalfield, India

A long mining history and unscientific exploitation of Jharia coalfield caused many environmental problems including water resource depletion and contamination. A geochemical study of mine water in the Jharia coalfield has been undertaken to assess its quality and suitability for domestic, industrial and irrigation uses. For this purpose, 92 mine water samples collected from different mining areas of Jharia coalfield were analysed for pH, electrical conductivity (EC), major cations (Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+, K+), anions (F−, Cl−, HCO3 −, SO4 2−, NO3 −), dissolved silica (H4SiO4) and trace metals. The pH of the analysed mine water samples varied from 6.2 to 8.6, indicating mildly acidic to alkaline nature. Concentration of TDS varied from 437 to 1,593 mg L−1 and spatial differences in TDS values reflect the variation in lithology, surface activities and hydrological regime prevailing in the region. SO4 2− and HCO3 − are dominant in the anion and Mg2+ and Ca2+ in the cation chemistry of mine water. High concentrations of SO4 2− in the mine water of the area are attributed to the oxidative weathering of pyrites. Ca–Mg–SO4 and Ca–Mg–HCO3 are the dominant hydrochemical facies. The drinking water quality assessment indicates that number of mine water samples have high TDS, total hardness and SO4 2− concentrations and needs treatment before its utilization. Concentrations of some trace metals (Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb) were also found to be above the desirable levels recommended for drinking water. The mine water is good to permissible quality and suitable for irrigation in most cases. However, higher salinity, residual sodium carbonate and Mg-ratio restrict its suitability for irrigation at some sites.