Central Europe experienced catastrophic rainfalls and flooding in 2010. This paper discusses a decommissioned shaft that was flooded by surface water, which led to displacement of shaft backfill and an inrush of large amounts of water into an underground pumping station. The weather conditions for the period preceding the inrush, the hydrogeological conditions, the quantity of water that entered the mine dewatering systems, and the underground hydraulic connections are all described. Uncontrolled inflow of water as a cause of backfill saturation and the hazard for active underground infrastructure were analysed. A need to rebuild damaged infrastructure was identified. The case study highlights the need to improve underground mine closure requirements to ensure safe conditions above ground, particularly in densely populated areas. Mitteleuropa erlebte 2010 katastrophale Regenfälle und Hochwässer. Dieser Artikel berichtet von einem stillgelegten Bergwerksschacht, der durch Oberflächenwasser geflutet wurde, was zu einer Verlagerung von Verwahrungsmaterial im Schacht und dem Eindringen großer Mengen Wasser in eine Untergrund-Pumpstation führte. Die Wetterbedingungen vor dem Wassereinbruch, die hydrogeologischen Bedingungen, die Menge des Wassers, das in das Entwässerungssystem eindrang, und die hydraulischen Verbindungen im Untergrund werden beschrieben. Der unkontrollierte Zufluss als Ursache für die Wassersättigung des Verwahrungsmaterials und die Gefährdung der im Untergrund betriebenen Infrastruktur wurden analysiert. Es wurde festgestellt, dass die beschädigte Infrastruktur erneuert werden muss. Die Fallstudie unterstreicht, dass die Anforderungen an die Schließung von untertägigen Bergwerksanlagen verbessert werden müssen, um die übertägige Sicherheit zu gewährleisten, insbesondere in dicht besiedelten Gebieten. Europa central experimentó lluvias e inundaciones catastróficas en 2010. Este trabajo discute el caso de un acceso de mina que fue inundado por agua superficial, que provocó el desplazamiento del relleno del acceso y la irrupción de grandes cantidades de agua dentro de una estación de bombeo subterránea. Se describen las condiciones del clima para el período precedente a la irrupción, las condiciones hidrogeológicas, la cantidad de agua que entró a los sistemas de desagote de la mina y las conexiones hidráulicas subterráneas. Se analizó la entrada incontrolada de agua como una causa de saturación del relleno y el riesgo para la infraestructura subterránea activa. Se concluyó en la necesidad de reconstruir la infraestructura dañada. El caso estudiado pone énfasis en la necesidad de mejorar los requerimientos de clausura de minas subterráneas para asegurar las condiciones de seguridad sobre la superficie, particularmente en áreas densamente pobladas. 2010年中欧经历了一场灾难性降雨和洪灾。废弃煤矿竖井为地表洪水淹没之后,使竖井封孔材料下沉,最终诱发大量洪水溃入井下泵房系统。分析了废弃竖井溃水前天气状况、研究区水文地质条件、矿井泵房溃水量及废弃矿井间联通状况,解释了洪水淹没是竖井封孔材料饱和并诱发井筒溃水主要原因,分析了溃水对邻近生产矿井井下基础建设的危害,指出了需要重建的井下基础设。本案例旨在说明加强矿井闭坑管理对保护地表尤其人口密集区安全的重要性。

Precipitation elasticity provides a basic estimate of the sensitivity of long-term streamflow to changes in long-term precipitation, and it is especially useful as the first assessment of climate change impact in land and water resource projects. This study estimated and compared the precipitation elasticity (ε_p) of streamflow in 86 catchments within Pakistan over 50 major rivers using three widely used analytical models: bivariate nonparametric (NP) estimator, multivariate NP analysis, and multivariate double logarithm (DL) model. All the three models gave similar values of elasticity in the range of 0.1–3.5 for over 70–75% of the catchments. This signifies that a 1% change in the annual mean precipitation compared to the long-term historic mean annual precipitation will amplify the streamflow by 0.1–3.5%. In addition, the results suggested that elasticity estimation of streamflow sensitivity using the multivariate DL model is more reliable and realistic. Precipitation elasticity of streamflow is observed high at altitudes ranging between 250 m and 1000 m while the longitudinal and latitudinal pattern of ε_p shows higher values in the range of 70–75 and 32–36 decimal degrees, respectively. The ε_p values were found to have a direct relationship with the mean annual precipitation and an inverse relationship with the catchment areas. Likewise, high ε_p values were noticed in areas where the mean annual temperature ranges between 15 and 24 °C.

The layout of the dewatering system in open-cast mining must be adapted to mining assumptions and to the size of expected inflows, which, in turn, depend on natural conditions and the operation of other mines and groundwater intakes, affecting the arrangement of the hydrodynamic field. This case study analyses possible dewatering solutions related to a change in the mining drainage system: decommissioning by flooding of a depleted deposit and dewatering of a new one located in the vicinity. As part of numerical modelling, a solution was sought to minimise the environmental impact of drainage. Forecast calculations for two drainage alternatives were made. One of the solutions follows the classic approach: independent dewatering of the new excavation. The second solution assumes the recirculation of waters from dewatering of the new mine through their discharge into a closed and flooded pit located in the vicinity. The results of the forecasts for both variants point to the modification of the hydrodynamic field resulting from expected volumes of inflows and different environmental effects. The use of numerical simulations assisted the selection of the optimal dewatering solution.

The carbonate fissure–karstic aquifer of Upper Jurassic age is the main aquifer in the Cracow Upper Jurassic Region (CUJR). The aquifer is recharged directly or indirectly by Quaternary or Quaternary–Cretaceous overburden of varying permeability, which predominates diffused recharge. Concentrated recharge occurs locally and has a diverse nature. Field studies carried out in 20 quarries show moderate permeability of the unsaturated zone of carbonate massif. Karst funnels are filled with rubble and clay material and dominate filled fissures with an opening b < 10 mm. The average surface fissure porosity of massive with chalky limestones and bedded limestones reach 0.12 and 0.45 %, respectively, while fissure permeability coefficient is, respectively, k_S 6.60 × 10⁻⁵ and 1.27 × 10⁻³ m/s. The average karstification in quarries was determined as n_k = 2.5 %. Tracer studies, carried out in an unconfined carbonate Zakrzówek horst in Cracow (Kraków), document vertical migration of infiltrating water through the systems with different hydraulic resistance, with a flow rate from 8.1 × 10⁻⁶ to 4.9 × 10⁻⁵ m/s and the lateral migration velocity between communicated caves from 6.94 × 10⁻⁶ to 1.06 × 10⁻⁴ m/s. The significant presence of poorly permeable overburden and moderate fissuring and karstification of rock in the unsaturated zone of CUJR are reflected in the assessment of the Upper Jurassic aquifer vulnerability to contamination, performed by a modified DRASTIC method. In the area of unconfined karst, occupying 55 % of the area, vulnerability to contamination is high, while as much as 45 % of the area is characterized by medium and low vulnerability.

The paper presents the varied presence of nitrates and phosphates in water from caves located in Częstochowa and Kraków, in urban, strongly anthropogenic conditions, representing the vadose zone of the fissure-karstic-porous massif of Upper Jurassic limestones. Hydrochemical research was carried out by the authors in the Cave on the Stone in Częstochowa in 2012–2015, in caves of the Zakrzówek horst from 1996 to 2002, and in the Dragon’s Cave by the research team of J. Motyka in 1995–1998. A number of NO₃ and PO₄ measurements were performed in waters sampled at these research sites: 20 measurements each of NO₃ and PO₄ at the Cave on the Stone, 228 of NO₃ and 422 of PO₄ at Zakrzówek, and 19 each of NO₃ and PO₄ at the Dragon’s Cave. To assess the quality aspect of N and P compounds in waters from the Cave on the Stone, the results of geochemical modelling were processed using PHREEQC software. In cave waters, the oxidised form of nitrogen NO₃⁻ predominates; in surface waters in the vicinity, unoxidised forms prevail: NH₄₊, NH₃, and NH₄SO₄⁻. Among phosphorus speciations, dissolved forms are dominant: HPO₄²⁻, H₂PO₄⁻, and the insoluble form CaHPO₄; in surface waters, these forms are practically absent. Transformations of water chemistry in ‘urban’ caves, often centuries old, manifest themselves in, inter alia, the occurrence of multi-ionic waters, including seasonal variations and extremely diversified concentrations, with very high concentrations in subpopulations of NO₃ (0.2–485 mg dm⁻³) and P (0.02–6.87 mg dm⁻³). The common presence of NO₃ in waters of the phreatic zone of the Częstochowa Upland, an area developed in an agricultural direction, is documented by, inter alia, the exploitation of intakes supplying the city of Częstochowa (10–57 mg dm⁻³, 2011) and crenological studies from 2008 to 2015 (NO₃, 2–58 mg dm⁻³), at simultaneously low phosphate concentrations (PO₄, 0.02–0.24 mg dm⁻³).