For the next 10 years, Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies (Veolia Water) will operate and maintain the water treatment plant at the old Wheal Jane tin mine located near Truro in Cornwall, England. Veolia Water will be working for the UK Coal Authority which has recently taken over the role of client from the Environment Agency. The Wheal Jane mine was closed and the pumps stopped in 1991, allowing the mine to flood. In 1992 over 10 million gallons of polluted water containing iron and other metals was released into Restronguet Creek, Carnon River and Falmouth Bay due to a faulty plug in the underground Nangiles Adit.
The Environment Agency was in charge of finding a long-term solution for treating the water. As a result, a bespoke treatment plant was designed and constructed to meet the stringent discharge limits set by the Environment Agency for discharge to the local water course.