Underground mining impact on groundwater in Kuye River Basin, China: A coupling model study

Abstract The Kuye River Basin has experienced a rapid depletion of groundwater due to the increased coal production. In this study, by introducing the empirical equations derived from the three zone theory in the coal mining industry in China as a boundary condition, a calculation model was developed by coupling the soil and water assessment tool and visual modular three‐dimensional finite‐difference ground‐water flow model (SWAT‐VISUAL MODFLOW). The model was applied to several coal mines in the basin to quantify the groundwater impact of underground mining. For illustration purposes, two underground water observation stations and one water level station were selected for groundwater change simulation in 2009, producing the results that agreed well with the observed data. We found that groundwater level was closely related to the height of the fractured water‐conducting zone caused by underground mining, and a higher height led to a lower groundwater level. This finding was further supported by the calculation that underground mining was responsible for 23.20 mm aquifer breakages in 2009. Thus, preventing surface subsidence due to underground mining can help protecting the basin's groundwater.