PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
Europe¿s mining history has left a legacy of contaminated streams and rivers. The River Pelenna in South Wales is one such case, now a vivid orange for much of its length due to iron oxides that precipitate out of minewaters. This project is demonstrating the use of reedbeds and other passive treatment systems to clean the minewaters before they reach the river. The results should be applicable to other mining areas across the EU. The River Pelenna in the Tonmawr area of West Glamorgan in south Wales is yellow-orange for abut 17km of its length due to the deposition of iron oxides that are carried from abandoned coal mines in the area. The project intends to restore the Pelenna to life by treating the minewaters to remove metals before they enter the river. The project is led by Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council in partnership with the Environment Agency. The matching funding comes from the County Council and the NRA, together with substantial support from the Welsh Development Agency. The project has recruited consultants to advise the Authority¿s in-house design team on specialist aspects of constructed wetlands for minewater purification. A large scale demonstration wetland treatment system capable of improving sites contaminated by coal minewater discharges will be created and evaluated in terms of water purification and its suitability for the rehabilitation of contaminated sites. The opportunities to enhance the conservation aspects of such a treatment system will also be assessed and developed. The findings from the project will contribute to and enhance existing information on minewater pollution treatment and will be available for dissemination and application elsewhere in Europe