Blog: Where there’s mining there’s water
… [T]he influence of mining on water rights, access and allocations has implications that extend far beyond swings in commodity prices. When large-scale hard rock mines extract below the water table, they continuously pump massive volumes of water out of the aquifer to “dewater.” The goal is to keep operations free of groundwater. Such dewatering, however, can have significant consequences for the hydrologic balance of local aquifer systems, groundwater-dependent ecosystems, and connected surface water (springs, rivers, etc…). The management, governance, accounting and consequences of this water movement is an important and ongoing (ground)water policy question in many states, one that is worth looking at, especially if, indeed, we are about to see a new mining boom.
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