Research Projects

Mining and related activities threaten the quantity and quality of water resources (i.e. groundwater and surface water) in several parts of the globe, including India. Most of the Indian mines do not practice proper water management, and polluted mine water commonly is discharged in vast amounts into open channels without any suitable treatment or productive use. The quality of this water depends on some significant factors, such as local geological, hydrological and mining environments, which differ significantly from mine to mine. Moreover, surface mine expansion and underground mine work below the piezometric level generally cause hydraulic gradient change, hence affecting surface water and groundwater flow regimes, vis-à-vis quantity and quality. Most of the time, mine water discharge contains unacceptable levels of major ions, metals, and other contaminants that can adversely affect the region's water resources. Significant ions and metals are common environmental impurities, and their toxicity is a problem for the mining society. Therefore, a seasonal/long-term water qualitative and quantitative database, regular monitoring, hydro-geochemical studies, health risk assessment regarding metal contaminations and mapping of vulnerable zones are essentially required to assess and understand the mining impact on water resources at the local or regional level. However, water resources quality has been studied in some mining (such as Singrauli, Katni, Shivpuri) of Madhay Pradesh. However, such database is less existing for the populated Umaria coalfield region. Moreover, still detailed information’s are not available on possible health risks and vulnerable zones in this mining region of Madhya Pradesh. Therefore, the present investigation has been proposed to study the comprehensive dynamics of the Umaria coalfield region with reference to trace element geochemistry of water resources, source apportionment, associated health risk of the exposed population, mapping of contaminated zones and suggestion of remediation measures.