Mine Waters of the Eastern Donbass and Their Effect on the Chemistry of Groundwater and Surface Water in the Region

Abstract

Regularities in the formation of mining water chemistry in Eastern Donbass were established and described for the 100-year period from the 1920s to 2010. The total of more than 1500 analyses were used. The changes in the chemistry were largest in the 1940s–1950s in the mines that had been recovered during World War II and after the mass abandonment of mines in the region (2002–2010). The size of groundwater resources acceptable for drinking water supply had decreased considerably; and the volumes of polluted surface water had increased abruptly. The export of dissolved substances by mining waters onto land surface reached its maximum (426 thousand t/year) in 2010. Four main lines of transformation of mine water chemistry were identified and their genesis was interpreted.