Working in A Coal MIne: Feasiability of using submerged coal mines in Greenwood as a source of drinking water

Abandoned coal-mine water has traditionally been overlooked as a source of drinking-water supplies, primarily because oxygenated meteoric water that floods mines reacts with pyrite and shale to produce acid drainage and high concentrations of sulfate, iron, and trace constituents. With increasing water demands worldwide, abandoned mine reservoirs are receiving additional attention as potential water supplies, and where geochemical conditions are favorable, mines serve as reliable, safe, and cost-effective water supplies. This research, conducted in the area of Greenwood, Arkansas, in the west-central part of the state, encompasses a three-objective interdisciplinary prototype study: 1) to evaluate the resource; 2) to evaluate potential sources of problems for a municipal water supply obtained from coal mines; and 3) to passively treat the mine water to reduce operational water-treatment costs.