Nenthead Mine Water Treatment Scheme

Overview

Welcome to our information pages for the Nenthead Mine Water Treatment Scheme.

The Environment Agency and Coal Authority are proposing to build a treatment scheme to remove the metals in the water discharging from the Caplecleugh and Rampgill Levels before they get into the river, improving the environment for people and wildlife.

The River Nent is the most metal polluted river in northern England. This pollution by cadmium, lead and zinc comes from several different sources and impacts aquatic wildlife, water and sediment quality for up to 60km along the River South Tyne and into the Tyne Estuary.

Monitoring by the Environment Agency shows that the water draining from the Caplecleugh and Rampgill Levels (abandoned mine water drainage tunnels or adits), are two of the most significant sources of pollution along the River Nent. By treating these two mine water discharges, we can remove between 30 and 75% of the zinc found in the River Nent at Alston.

Following discussions with the public and other stakeholders, proposals are being developed for a mine water treatment scheme to be built on the former Nenthead mine site adjacent to the Handsome Mea reservoir.  

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Latest Project Update - April 2024

The proposal is to capture the mine water from the Caplecleugh and Rampgill Levels near the Nenthead mines car park, and pump it up to treatment ponds near to Handsome Mea reservoir in an underground pipeline. The latest scheme plan is available here.

We have now started finalising the design of the scheme. Below is the plan for the ‘Mine water capture’ which includes how mine water will be captured from the Caplecleugh and Rampgill Levels and the pumping station to pump the mine water up to the treatment ponds, along with a new footbridge across the River Nent to provide us with continued access to the Caplecleugh Level. 

Once the metals have been removed in the treatment ponds, the treated water will be returned to the River Nent through a buried pipeline. The design of the ‘Treatment ponds’ and the ‘Treated water discharge’ are being finalised and will be shared with the community when they are ready. 

We have recently published other reports and surveys on the project website including: 

• 2023 Peat Survey Report 
• Compound areas layout plan (Areas 1, 2 and 3) 
• 2024 Traffic Survey

These are available to view and download here. 

Our latest community information event was held on the 18 March 2024 and the information we shared at the session is available online here.