Case study:Force Crag Mine Remediation

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Location: 54° 35' 1.78" N, 3° 14' 17.44" W

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Project overview

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Status	In progress
Project web site
Themes	Habitat and biodiversity, Water quality
Country	England
Main contact forename	Hugh
Main contact surname	Potter
Main contact user ID	User:HPotter
Contact organisation	Environment Agency
Contact organisation web site
Partner organisations	The Coal Authority (UK), Defra (Dept for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs), National Trust, Newcastle University
Parent multi-site project
This is a parent project encompassing the following projects	No

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Project summary

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Force Crag mine, worked for zinc, lead and barytes until 1991, was famously the last working mine in the Lake District. Mine water discharges and diffuse pollution from waste heaps mean it's a major source of cadmium, zinc and lead, depositing around 3 tonnes each year into the watercourse. The metals pollute the Coledale Beck and the Newlands Beck as far as Bassenthwaite Lake, and prevent these water bodies achieving good Chemical and Ecological status for the Water Framework Directive.

The site is now owned by the National Trust and run as a visitor attraction. It's within the Lake District High Fells SAC and two SSSI’s; Force Crag mine itself and Buttermere High Fells. It is also a Scheduled Monument.

We've been working in partnership with the Coal Authority, the National Trust and Newcastle University to develop a remediation scheme for this site with funding from Defra. The ‘vertical flow pond’ designed by Newcastle University is the first of its kind in the UK and uses compost, limestone and woodchips to remove metals from the water without the need for added energy or chemicals. This passive system works by passing the mine water down through the compost mixture where microbial activity binds the metals as sulphides, before discharging through a small wetland and into the Coledale Beck.

In September 2013, the Coal Authority began building the treatment scheme within the existing bunding of the former tailings lagoon. The National Trust and English Heritage supported the scheme as the next stage in the life cycle of this historic industrial site. On 31 March 2014, the valves were opened and mine water started filling up the ponds. Because the treatment relies on microbial activity to bind the metals, it will be a few weeks before we know how well the system is performing. The benefits of cleaning up the Force Crag mine water are estimated to be £1.6m - £4.9m over 25 years, at a cost of ~£1.5m.

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Image gallery

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April 2014. Completed Force Crag mine water treatment scheme. Photo by John Malley.

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