This mine water treatment facility constructed at the National Coal Mining Museum for England was constructed to provide treatment and control of mine water at the museum. The scheme enables mine water levels to be maintained below the level of the underground exhibition gallery whilst providing a standard of treatment to meet the discharge standards required by the Environment Agency.
The site for the construction of the enhanced treatment facility was steeply sloping with limited available land area. Reinforced concrete tanks were used to act as retaining walls in addition to their role as settlement lagoons.
Innovative geotechnical engineering techniques were used to construct the reed bed areas, including reinforced earth and soil nailing.
Two 2000m3 settlement tanks, two reedbeds in series measuring 4300m2 in total and a flow balancing tank of 1500m3 were constructed along with the diversion of an existing beck and construction of surface water drainage, fencing and access tracks. The presence of great crested newts and badgers had been identified on the site and special protection measures were required including the provision of an artificial badger sett.
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