Any groundwater encountered during mining and drilling processes is contaminated and cannot be allowed to return to the water table or it will contaminate the entire aquifer. As groundwater moves naturally, those contaminants can be transported hundreds, if not thousands of miles.
Groundwater accessed during mining activities, then, must be pumped out and stored in groundwater storage lagoons while awaiting processing for eventual reuse or release into the environment. These groundwater lagoons are required to meet strict safety protocols to prevent infltration into the soil, movement to surface waters, or release back into the water table.
