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Post by Wheldale on Feb 18, 2010 5:56:51 GMT -5
Does anyone know of any operation colliery pumping stations? Just wondered if they had all been closed or if a few are still working?
Cheers for the help!
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Post by John on Feb 18, 2010 8:20:46 GMT -5
Contaminated pit water is causing acute problems with the water tables in many old mining areas, mainly Durham, Northumberland and Nottinghamshire.
I've come across mine pumping from several collieries surfing the net, don't ask me where now as I didn't take a great deal of notice or notes.
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Post by dazbt on Feb 18, 2010 12:17:48 GMT -5
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Post by Wheldale on Feb 18, 2010 13:40:59 GMT -5
Good link, thanks for that,
Have you any idea wether any of the pumping stations
such as Hemingfield, Woolley, Elsecar, Fitzwilliam etc. still
survive in buildings and may-be even at least partly operational to drain some water away to avoid flooding in formerly mining areas?
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Post by alanvickers on Mar 16, 2010 14:28:13 GMT -5
There are quite few pumping stations operating in the former Durham coalfield. I hope that the following is of some help.
Kibblesworth - new installation here with the minewater flowing through a reed bed that is shared with the outflow from a sewage treatment plant operated by Northumbrian Water. This is in the Lamesley area and the treated water then flows into the River Team.
Lumley 6th Pit - pumps into the Lumley Park Burn which flows into the River Wear. This PS is closer to New Lambton although it has always been known as Lumley 6th.
Nicholsons Pit - I believe that the pumping facilities are still there but have been unused for a few years now so as to see how the underground levels behaved.
Vinovium PS - near Bishop Auckland - not sure about this one but I have seen reference to it becoming a gravitational system with the treated water flowing into the nearby River Wear.
Sherburn Hill, Chester Moor, Ushaw Moor and Page Bank - I am not sure of their current status as some of them were switched off some years ago to see how the underground levels behaved and I am uncertain what happened thereafter.
Horden - a new installation is planned for here to replace the temporary installation currently in use. This is to prevent the underground minewater rising and polluting the magnesian limestone aquifer from which much of East Durham's public water supply is derived. The new installation will probably work through a reed bed with the treated water being pumped out to sea.
Dawdon - a new installation here to prevent the underground minewater rising and polluting the magnesian limestone aquifer. The treated water is pumped out to sea.
Chatershaugh - it is intended that this will be a gravitational system with the water flowing through a reed bed and into the River Wear. This may result in Lumley PS becoming redundant.
In the decades to come it is probable that a new PS will have to be arranged in the workings of the former Wearmouth Colliery.
Alan Vickers.
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Post by erichall on Sept 20, 2010 4:46:21 GMT -5
Probably one of the most important is the Manton Colliery in Worksop, Notts. This has provided much of the drinking water supplied to the surrounding area and into the Severn Trent system. Villages as far away as Clowne , Creswell and many more are supplied with their drinking water from this ex-Colliery.
Another was the old Mitchells Main Colliery between Barnsley and West Melton, which for years supplied drinking water for the surrounding area.
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Post by John on Sept 20, 2010 7:41:32 GMT -5
Probably one of the most important is the Manton Colliery in Worksop, Notts. This has provided much of the drinking water supplied to the surrounding area and into the Severn Trent system. Villages as far away as Clowne , Creswell and many more are supplied with their drinking water from this ex-Colliery. Another was the old Mitchells Main Colliery between Barnsley and West Melton, which for years supplied drinking water for the surrounding area. What sort of filtering do they carry out Eric??? Many of the pits eastwards had contaminated water, so much so that there is worry the rising pit water may contaminate the local groundwater tables. |
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Post by erichall on Sept 21, 2010 4:38:47 GMT -5
Afraid I can't answer that , 'cos I don't know, but maybe the answer could be obtained from Severn/Trent. I'll see if I can find out. Incidently, Manton pit, which I only ever visited once, used to be a high production pit. Even so, it was claimed that they not only pumped out more water than coal, but they also pumped out more methane as well. It was wet and gassy.
On the question of pumping stations, perhaps someone could enlighten me as to what happened to the water from the old Rockingham Colliery. They always had 3 multi-stage turbine pumps, 2 of which were on line constantly. These pumped water up a drift to the surface and were situated in the Fenton Seam.
It was decided to develop the Parkgate seam in an area below these pumps, and they drifted down to the Parkgate, and developed the roadways using Joy Continuous Miners with the intention of working the seam on full retreat. Whilst this was on-going, a disaster happened in France/Germany, I forget the exact location, but it made world news. A German rescue rig was used to drill down to the trapped miners, who were eventually and succesfully brought to the surface via a 23/26 inch cased hole with a capsule, much on the lines of the current plan in Chile.
Immediately this was achieved, the National Coal Board purchased one of these rigs, which was mobile and self-contained, from the Mine Boring Firm Werthe. As a trial, a site was chosen in the Rockley area south of Barnsley. The rig was owned and operated by the Werthe Co. and utilised the top drillers from the firm. It was to be on 24 hr. callout to the NCB. The hole would be driven into the Parkgate seam in a spot chosen to be just off one of the main roads in the then working seam, and so a small roadway was driven to down to the spot chosen.
At the time I was working as a Student Apprentice Mining Engineer and had been seconded to the Group manager for the Rockingham Group of collieries. Area therefore proposed that I be seconded to the rig whilst this hole was drilled, as the NCB's 'observer' The hole was drilled and cased.
Some months later I had been appointed Shotfirer, and was working in the aforesaid Parkgate at Rockingham Colliery. My mate and I were duly despatched to fire the coal down to the cased hole, I fired the frst shots but when I went for my second shift, was told my mate had finished the job. He had. He'd also blown a gash in the casing tube!
After the seam had been worked out, it was flooded by the mine water, a submersible pump had been lowered into the drilled hole and water from Rock' was pumped up the borehole into Rockley Wood and into the stream instead of going the long, long route up the drift from the Fenton seam to be allowed to run into the same stream some 1700 yards further upstream.
It was fantastic to work on such a project from both ends, and is one reason I'm watching the Chilean disaster very carefully. I still wonder what happened to the water from that borehole, since Rock' is now closed, filled in and levelled.
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