Impacts of Acid Mine Drainage on Continental Waters
A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Hydrology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 April 2026 | Viewed by 22
Special Issue Editor
Interests: mining industry; tailings management; tailings hydromechanical behavior; geotechnical engineering; environmental geology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
This Special Issue aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the scientific advances on the environmental impact of mining and metallurgical activities on water resources. By integrating case studies from continental and marine environments, it will offer new insights into the challenges and opportunities for achieving good ecological and chemical water status, as required by the EU Water Framework Directive. Furthermore, it will highlight approaches aligned with WHO guidelines and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly those related to clean water and sanitation (SDG 6), responsible consumption and production (SDG 12), and life below water (SDG 14).
We are convinced that this Special Issue will attract high-quality research contributions and will contribute to the journal’s impact and visibility in the environmental sciences community.
This Special Issue will focus on the environmental impacts of mining and metallurgical activities on continental and marine water bodies. The objective is to gather innovative research and practical case studies addressing contamination, hydrogeochemical alterations, and ecotoxicological risks associated with mine wastes and metallurgical residues.
Key themes include the following:
- Hydrogeochemistry of acid mine drainage (AMD) and neutral mine drainage;
- Distribution and mobility of heavy metals (Pb, Zn, Cu, Cd, Hg, As, Sb, etc.);
- Impacts on rivers, aquifers, estuaries, and coastal ecosystems;
- Monitoring, modelling, and early-warning technologies;
- Remediation techniques (passive and active treatment, nature-based solutions);
- Circular economy approaches and resource recovery from mine wastes;
- Governance and policy frameworks in line with the EU Water Framework Directive (2006/60/EC), the WHO water quality guidelines, and the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
By integrating these perspectives, this Special Issue aims to promote solutions for sustainable water management in mining regions, support decision-makers, and strengthen the link between scientific advances, environmental policy, and societal needs.
Dr. Roberto Rodríguez-Pacheco
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Water is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- acid mine drainage (AMD)
- heavy metals contamination
- hydrogeochemistry
- mine tailings and residues
- water quality and ecotoxicology
- continental and marine water bodies
- remediation and treatment technologies
- circular economy and resource recovery
- water framework directive (WFD)
- sustainable development goals (SDGS)
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