GROUNDWATER REBOUND IN THE LEICESTERSHIRE COALFIELD

The Leicestershire coalfield has been mined for at least eight hundred years, the: last deep mine closing ill 1991. The earliest shallow min es on the exposed coalfield are not recorded on plan, but were later c onnected to the deeper workings in many seams. In order to protect the last deep mines, pumping was maintained from the abandoned mines to t he north. Water-table rebound was observed prior to closure, and is no w affecting the surface. Increased emissions of poor-quality water int o low-discharge surface water-courses are predicted. Renewed subsidenc e has: implications for roads, services and property. Rising water-lev els will affect old opencast excavations: and waste disposal. sites. F ieldwork and abandoned mine plan inspections have demonstrated renewed subsidence and evidence of. increased emissions in those low-lying ar eas: of the exposed coalfield which are believed to be most at risk.