Case Study – Monitoring Coal Mine Water

The Coal Authority is a public body sponsored by the Department of business, energy and industrial strategy. It manages the effects of past coal mining and deals with mine water pollution and other mining issues. When a mine shaft filled up with water and burst, causing local flooding earlier this year, we were asked by The Coal Authority to undertake some temporary flow monitoring.

Predicting a mine blow out or even where water will be discharged from old mines can be difficult and the water can and does change course. This can happen as underground blockages or roof falls can make discharges stop and start up again in different locations.

The temporary monitoring would allow The Coal Authority to increase it’s understanding of the source of the mine water, and the connectivity to surface water inflows. Due to the nature of the of the flow and the environment of the measurement locations, the LIDoTT sensor was selected as the most appropriate device.

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