Old Meadows, Lancashire

This project located in Lancashire clarified the iron contaminated discharge from the former Old Meadows Adit. A feasibility study into a minewater treatment project was undertaken and a commission for the detailed design was awarded.

The project included a pump house to pass the water for treatment, a chemical injection system to correct the water acidity and settlement lagoons followed by a tertiary wetland to settle iron sludges. Associated pumping ranges, adit works and drainage systems were also necessary. The project valued at about £1m was completed in 1999.

Chemical treatment schemes for minewater remediation in Yorkshire were designed to achieve effective robust systems to operate reliably when unattended. This experience has assisted the development of chemical treatment schemes, such as those at Old Meadows and Six Bells to further improve the reliability for modern unattended stations.