Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (ISM), Dhanbad, 826004, Jharkhand, India.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2022 Apr;29(18):27366-27381. doi: 10.1007/s11356-021-17918-0. Epub 2022 Jan 3.
The dense and industrialized populace in the mining areas of Jharia Coalfield (JCF) is plagued by a severe shortage of water supply. The unutilized pumped out coal minewater discharges may be utilized to cater to the increasing water demand of the region but it runs the risk of getting contaminated from domestic and industrial effluents. The current study aimed to assess the suitability of augmenting underground minewater for potable purposes. For this purpose, ninety underground minewater samples collected from 15 locations across JCF for the hydrological year 2019-2020 were analysed to gain an insight on the physicochemical characteristics of the minewater using an integrated approach of standard hydrochemical methods, integrated water quality index (IWQI), heavy metal pollution index (HPI), and multivariate statistical analysis. For the minewater quality to be deemed suitable for potable purposes, both IWQI (lower than 2) and HPI (lower than 30) values were considered. IWQI values of the minewater samples from the study area ranged from 1.97 to 5.08, while the HPI values ranged from 18.40 to 53.05. The pH of the samples were found to be mildly acidic to alkaline (6.5 to 8.3) with varying total hardness (149 to 719 mg L), total dissolved solids (341 to 953 mg L), and electrical conductivity (568 to 1389 µS cm), reflecting heterogeneity in underlying hydrosystems, variations in geological formations, and the influence of lithogenic and anthropogenic processes on the water chemistry of the region, which was corroborated by the principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) of the minewater samples. Two major water types of the region were identified, viz., Ca-Mg-HCO and Ca-Mg-Cl-SO. This multiparametric approach gives a holistically accurate assessment of the minewater quality, overcoming the limitations of traditional water quality indices and facilitating time-saving and effective water management practices, and sets the foundation for augmenting minewater for potable purposes to meet increasing demands.
贾里亚煤田（JCF）矿区人口密集且工业化程度高，面临严重的供水短缺问题。未被利用的抽出的煤矿水排放可能被用于满足该地区不断增长的用水需求，但存在被生活和工业废水污染的风险。本研究旨在评估增加地下矿山水用于饮用水的适宜性。为此，对 2019-2020 年水文年期间从 JCF 15 个地点采集的 90 个地下矿山水样进行了分析，采用标准水文化学方法、综合水质指数（IWQI）、重金属污染指数（HPI）和多元统计分析的综合方法，深入了解矿山水的理化特性。为了使矿山水质量适合饮用水用途，需要同时考虑 IWQI（低于 2）和 HPI（低于 30）值。研究区矿山水样的 IWQI 值范围为 1.97 至 5.08，而 HPI 值范围为 18.40 至 53.05。发现样品的 pH 值从微酸性到碱性（6.5 至 8.3）不等，总硬度（149 至 719mg/L）、总溶解固体（341 至 953mg/L）和电导率（568 至 1389µS/cm）变化较大，反映了基础水系统的异质性、地质构造的变化以及成岩和人为过程对该地区水化学的影响，这与矿山水样的主成分分析（PCA）和层次聚类分析（HCA）相吻合。确定了该地区的两种主要水类型，即 Ca-Mg-HCO 和 Ca-Mg-Cl-SO。这种多参数方法对矿山水质量进行了全面准确的评估，克服了传统水质指数的局限性，有利于节省时间和有效的水资源管理实践，并为增加矿山水用于饮用水以满足不断增长的需求奠定了基础。
