Water is one of the most important resources found on Earth, essential for all forms of life. Both the quantity and quality of water resources are crucial for the health of the population and for economic sectors, making water a factor in determining a society’s standard of living. Mine water serves as an appealing source of both drinking and technological water. Regardless of the exploitation method, it must be pumped to the surface and, usually, treated to meet environmental standards. In most cases, it is discharged to rivers. In this article, we present a model of the use of mine water from three pumping stations of decommissioned coal mines in the Upper Silesian Coal Basin—Jan Kanty, Saturn, and Boże Dary. Water from these pumping stations is characterized by good qualitative and quantitative parameters. The results of the physico-chemical composition analyses carried out in the years 2012–2022 did not reveal any excessive amounts of toxic components or treatment difficulties. Given the long operational lifespan of these pumping stations and their existing water extraction infrastructure, they emerge as promising sources of both potable and industrial water supply, demanding minimal treatment efforts.

A water hazard is one of the greatest dangers in mining and tunneling operations and the issue of predicting water hazard zones has been extensively discussed in the literature. However, the currently used methods require a highly detailed understanding of hydrogeological conditions or have major limitations and often produce unreliable results. This paper describes the use of hydrogeochemical anomalies as an indicator of impending mine water hazard zones. The proposed method uses the concentration of Cl ions in water extracts from Permian rock samples collected from the face of the mine workings. The concentration of Cl ions in the water extracts strongly correlated with the concentration of this ion in the pore solutions extracted from the same rock samples. Additionally, the concentration of Cl ions in the pore solutions exhibited a very strong correlation with the concentration from the Permian leaks. Thus, the decreasing concentration of Cl ions in the water extracts was deemed a reliable signal of an approaching water hazard zone. In the hydrogeological conditions present in the Olkusz-Pomorzany mine, this method enabled the detection of the moment when a water hazard zone was ≈ 200–250 m away.

In an overwhelming number of cases, the closure of a coal mine in Poland, for safety reasons, requires the installation of a pumping station and systems for the drainage of inflowing water due to its connection via roadways, goaves, or water-leaking pillars with other adjacent active mines. Due to operational costs, stationary pumping stations are being replaced with submersible pumping stations, wherever the geological/mining conditions allow this. The key factors to be considered when designing a submersible pumping station include the estimated water influx and the storage and emergency reservoir fill-up time. If the water level in the emergency reservoir exceeds the level of the maximum ordinate, there is the risk of water flooding an adjacent active mine, which poses a serious safety risk to this mine. A pumping station design must ensure that water can be pumped out also in emergency situations and must ensure permanent control over the level of the water table. The pumped-out water, after potential treatment, can be utilized as technological water in industrial plants. In the designed pumping station, it is also feasible to establish underground pumped-storage hydropower. This would enable the storage of energy from renewable sources, thereby contributing to CO₂ emission reduction.

The closure of the Olkusz-Pomorzany zinc and lead ore mine (southern Poland) and the cessation of mine dewatering in December 2021 initiated a groundwater rebound process. The rebound is taking place within the former cone of depression, which covered an area of more than 300 km². The objective of this study is to identify and assess the key factors controlling the rapid rate of groundwater table recovery and to explain both the spatial variability of the rebound and the underlying hydrogeological mechanisms driving this process. The study is based on hydrogeological monitoring data collected between 2022 and 2025 and on a detailed analysis of the geological and hydrogeological conditions of the Olkusz region. The study takes into account various types of hydraulic connections between aquifers, along with the presence of karst and abandoned underground mine workings. The results indicate that the rebound rate within Triassic carbonate formations is highly spatially variable and primarily influenced by three factors: (1) a large and poorly defined recharge area of the cone of depression; (2) recharge through erosional windows carved in the Upper Triassic (Keuper) clay formations, enabling hydraulic connection between Quaternary sands and underlying Triassic carbonates; and (3) karst conduit systems, additionally flushed of sediments during mine drainage. Furthermore, atmospheric precipitation infiltration and induced recharge from surface watercourses (particularly the Biała Przemsza River and its tributaries) play a significant role in accelerating groundwater rebound. The findings may serve as a reference for other mining regions with comparable hydrogeological conditions. The study also highlights the challenges in predicting the rate of groundwater rebound in areas with complex geological conditions, where insufficient data limits the development of reliable numerical models.

The energy sector in Poland is primarily based on fossil fuels, mainly coal. Hard coal mining is one of the most important industries in Poland. Hard coal deposits in Poland are found in three basins, but mining is currently carried out in the Upper Silesian Coal Basin (USCB) and the Lublin Coal Basin (LCB). The Upper Silesian Coal Basin is Poland’s central hard coal basin, with the most significant coal production extending across Poland and the Czech Republic. Approximately 80% of proven hard coal resources in Poland are found in the Upper Silesian Coal Basin (USCB). There is a tremendous amount of water in active and abandoned hard coal mines, which must be drained daily. Relatively high temperatures characterize mine water. This study analyzed the geological and hydrogeological conditions of the Upper Silesian Coal Basin and determined the potential for the use of mine waters for energy purposes. Depending on the location of the mine, the volume of mine water inflow ranges from 1 to 60 m³/min. The temperature of the pumped water is between 13 and 25 °C. In Poland, several such pilot installations have already been created; it is worth taking a closer look at the following examples. Heat recovery from mine drainage water can significantly reduce atmospheric emissions, which is particularly important in mining areas affected by low emissions. Therefore, Poland must raise the issue of using mined water for energy purposes, especially when making decisions related to decommissioning mines and developing post-mining areas.