Despite the numerous factors involved in mine water pollution it is
proving increasingly important to be able to quantify these impacts, at least
to some degree. This is principally because, as other sources of aquatic
pollution (principally sewerage) are addressed, contaminated mine waters
will increasingly become the limiting factor to further riverine quality improvements.
This problem is exacerbated by the unusual legislative situation
regarding discharges from abandoned mines in the UK [16].