Synoptic monitoring as an approach to discriminating between point and diffuse source contributions to zinc loads in mining impacted catchments

Abstract

One of the global legacies of industrialisation is the environmental impacts of historic mineral exploitation. Recent national initiatives to manage the impacts on ground and surface waters have driven the need to develop better techniques for assessing understanding of the catchment-scale distribution and characterisation of the relative contribution of point and diffuse contaminant sources. The benefits of a detailed, multidisciplinary investigation are highlighted through a case study focused on the Rookhope Burn, a tributary of the River Wear, which falls within a significantly mine impacted area of the North Pennines Orefield, UK. Zinc (Zn) has been identified as the contaminant of concern within this catchment, which is judged by the Environment Agency to be at risk of failing to achieve good water quality status in the context of the Water Framework Directive. The results of synoptic flow monitoring and sampling for chemical determinations of major and trace elements have been used to calculate mass balances of instream and inflow chemical loads in the Rookhope Burn. Despite a dominant impact on the water quality from a mine outburst (especially Zn [1.45 to 2.42 mg/l], Fe [2.18 to 3.97 mg/l], Mn [3.69 to 6.77 mg/l], F [3.99 to 4.80 mg/l] and SO₄ [178 to 299 mg/l]), mass balance calculations combined with geological mapping have facilitated the identification of significant, previously unknown, subsurface contributions of Zn contaminated groundwater (with Zn concentrations in excess of 0.4 to 0.9 mg/l and 0.18 to 0.36 mg/l) to the Burn. The subsurface contributions exhibit spatial correspondence to mine workings with associated mineral veins and adits, or to points of suspected karst groundwater resurgence. These findings reiterate the challenges posed in decision making with respect to remediation, in this case in the context of the management of significant subsurface contributions.