Accounting for Mine Water in Coal Mining Activities and its Spatial Characteristics in China

A large amount of wastewater is discharged in the course of preventing and controlling water inrush in China’s coal mines. We investigated the role of mine water in coal production and associated ground subsidence problems at the prefecture-level, and analyzed their spatial characterization and regional differences using coal mine production data. The results indicate that ≈ 5310 million m3 of such mine water were produced in China in 2018. Five clusters of coal mine water production were identified; spatial analysis suggests that the cities in these areas should pay more attention to mine water reuse and comprehensive control of ground subsidence to alleviate water resource pressures and aid the environment.