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Abstract

Damodar river basin, also known as “storehouse of Indian coal”, generates huge quantities of groundwater as a by-product of coal mining. Unfortunately, a major part of this valuable resource is lost through natural drainage without much uses and cause water table depletion and contamination of the other water sources of the adjoining areas. The objective of this study was to determine the major and trace element geochemistry of the mine water resources of the Damodar valley coalfields, its suitability for domestic, industrial and irrigation uses and hydrogeochemical processes controlling the water composition. pH of analyzed waters varies between 6.8 and 8.5, while electrical conductivity ranged from 409 to 2000 µS cm^-1. Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺ were the major cations, while SO₄^2- and HCO₃^- dominate in the anionic composition. The high contribution of Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺ and SO₄^2- towards the TZ⁺ and TZ^- charge balance and low HCO₃^-/(HCO₃^-+SO₄^2-) ratio (<0.5) suggest a major role of sulphide oxidation in solute acquisition and determining chemical composition of coalmine water. The majority of the water samples in this region have been characterized with high TDS, total hardness, SO₄^2-, Fe, Mn, Cr and Pb. The analysis results clearly indicates that water is not suitable for direct supply for domestic uses and need a comprehensive multi-modular treatment process to make it suitable for the purpose of drinking. It may however, be used for irrigation purposes, though high salinity, %Na, SAR, RSC can make the water unsuitable at certain sites.