Prediction and Potential Treatment of Underground Contaminated Water Based on Monitoring of pH and Salinity in a Coal Mine Waste Heap, Southern Poland

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

The work describes a theoretical model for predicting underground contaminated water migration based on monitoring the pH and the salinity. This model will be employed for the design of the treatment methods for contamination remediation. The title of the manuscript is misleading since it implies actual underground contaminated water treatment. The title and the abstract must be revised to accurately describe the contents of the paper

More references in the introduction would be helpfull

From Table 1 and on, the authors present results that must be incorporated in the results and discussion section

Page 2 The explanation for the total dissolved solids (TDS) must be on line 48 instead of 56.

The legend of Figures 5 and 6 is inadequate. I assume P1, P12, P15, P16, P17 represent the piezometers, numbers in the two blue axes meter. What do white, red, and blue areas (and numbers) represent?  

Author Response

Please refer to the enclosed file

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

This manuscript reported an approach to create an applied model with the help of the Visual 459 Modflow software, allowed for modeling of the hydrodynamic field under the conditions of different evapotranspiration and different precipitation resulting from climate change. This help calculate the amount of leachate polluting the groundwater, while using the MT3DMS module it was possible to set nZVI treatment parameters One concern from the reviewer is that all seven samples were taken near the shoreside, which may be not presentative to the bulk stream as many factors may lead the different pH, conductivity and the metal concentration close the shoreside relative to the bulk stream. When designing future analysis, the author may want to take other samples from the middle of the coal waste. Overall, tt is an interesting topic, and looking forward to seeing the continuous report on the application of this approach in pilot scale and full scale.

Author Response

Please refer to the enclosed document.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 3 Report

Title: Prediction and treatment of underground contaminated water based on monitoring of pH and salinity, for a waste heap coal mining, Southern Poland

Journal / ID: Minerals / minerals-1632957-peer-review-v1

Authors: Tomasz Suponik, Dawid M. Franke, Carmen M. Neculita, Tadeusz Mzyk, Robert Frączek

The manuscript used a finite element numerical modeling procedure by Modflow that aims to develop a treatment method for contaminated groundwater from a waste heap in southern Poland. In this regard, the authors collected historical monitoring data from the field from 2007 to 2010 and prepared a model to simulate the groundwater pollution caused by mining operations. In general, the manuscript contains an interesting topic that is considered one of the important stages in the environmental assessment regarding mining, but several requirements need to be clarified. However, the following comments are requested to be addressed by the authors:

C1: Although the paper's English is understandable, I would recommend that the authors have it double-checked, preferably by a native English speaker, to improve it.

C2: The necessity & novelty of the manuscript should be presented and emphasized in the “Introduction” section.

C3: Using a regular finite element can be considered a scientific contribution, and it can be used to verify the model by providing more ground data.

C4: Please add a subsection clearly articulating the main limitations, the wider applicability of your methods, and your findings in the "Discussion" section. Also, the authors should deepen the discussion.

C5: I would also advise the authors to use the following studies in order to improve the manuscript.

- Kumar, A., Krishna, A.P. (2021). Groundwater quality assessment using geospatial technique based water quality index (WQI) approach in a coal mining region of India. Arab J Geosci 14, 1126. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-021-07474-9

- Kurukulasuriya, D., Howcroft, W., Moon, E. et al. (2022). Selecting Environmental Water Tracers to Understand Groundwater around Mines: Opportunities and Limitations. Mine Water Environ  https://doi.org/10.1007/s10230-022-00845-y

- Derakhshani, R., and Alipour, M. (2010). Remediation of Acid Mine Drainage by using Tailings Decant Water as a Neutralization Agent in Sarcheshmeh Copper Mine. Research Journal of Environmental Sciences, 4: 250-260. https://dx.doi.org/10.3923/rjes.2010.250.260

- Azizpour, A., Azarafza, M., & Akgun, H. (2020). The impact of municipal waste disposal of heavy metals on environmental pollution: A case study for Tonekabon, Iran. Advances in environmental research, 9(3), 175-189.

Author Response

Please refer to the enclosed document.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

The manuscript is now suitable for publication