Impacts of Coal Mining on Groundwater Environment in Northwestern Coal Mine Area

Abstract

By conducting field investigation and tests, such as groundwater pumping test and rock mechanics test, and building numerical models to simulate damage of coal mining to aquifers, it was proved that coal mining in some coal mine area caused impacts to groundwater environment, including impact on water cycle, the structure of aquifers, and groundwater flow field, as a result of which some water supply sources in coal mine area become unavailable. In addition, a couple of solutions are presented to mitigate the impacts.