Acomb Minewater Treatment Scheme
Introduction
The photograph on this page of Acomb Minewater Treatment Scheme by Oliver Dixon as part of the Geograph project.
The Geograph project started in 2005 with the aim of publishing, organising and preserving representative images for every square kilometre of Great Britain, Ireland and the Isle of Man.
There are currently over 7.5m images from over 14,400 individuals and you can help contribute to the project by visiting https://www.geograph.org.uk
Acomb Minewater Treatment Scheme
Image: © Oliver Dixon Taken: 14 Jan 2008
It is hard to imagine now that the Northumberland Coalfield extended so far up into Tynedale, but coal was mined for some fifty years at this site in the early 20th century. The mine was closed in 1952 (long before the coal industry was decimated in the 1980s). An unfortunate legacy was pollution of the Red Burn caused by the overflow of heavily contaminated minewater. This treatment scheme was established in 2001 to deal with the problem. Filtering the water through the reedbeds in the background forms the final stage in the process http://www.coal.gov.uk/resources/environment/acombminewatertreatmentscheme.cfm . The area has been developed as a small recreational area with picnic benches, and the old railway which once served the mine forms an attractive path down to Waters Meet at the confluence of the South and North Tyne Rivers.
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Image Location
Latitude
54.989794
Longitude
-2.115619