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Letter: Could we tap old mines as a new source of water?

Published 24 August 2022

From Alan Jowett, Castlemorris, Pembrokeshire, UK

I have reservations about large reservoir development to address water shortages, as it invariably disrupts communities and may reduce available farmland (Leader, 13 August).

There are vast water reserves in old mine workings. If coal is now redundant as an acceptable fuel, then we could repurpose mine galleries, tunnels and shafts that hold significant amounts of water. Using it would entail purification and decontamination, but that takes place with even the most pristine of surface reservoirs.

Issue no. 3401 published 27 August 2022

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