The Water and Abandoned Metal Mines (WAMM) programme was set up in 2011 to begin to clean up the 1,500km of English rivers polluted by abandoned metal mines.
It is a partnership between the Environment Agency, the Mining Remediation Authority (formerly called the Coal Authority) and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).
Metal mines played a major part in Britain’s history, but abandoned mines now pollute our rivers, harm aquatic life and can have an adverse impact on economic activity.
As of January 2025, the WAMM programme currently operates 5 mine water treatment schemes. The new Environment Act target means up to 40 new treatment schemes will be needed along with a similar number of diffuse interventions.
In January 2023, parliament approved new legally-binding targets under the Environment Act.
One target is to halve the length of rivers polluted by abandoned metal mines by 2038. This strengthens existing commitments made in the government’s 25 Year Environment Plan and the statutory River Basin Management Plans.
WAMM projects
See where metal mines are polluting our rivers
You can view the rivers affected by historical metal metals, along with other data on metal mine pollution, by visiting the Mining Remediation Authority’s online map viewer and clicking on the Environment Agency tab in the blue header across the top of the webpage.
The Environment Agency has determined that the baseline length of rivers and estuaries polluted by one or more of the target substances from abandoned metal mines is 1,491 km.
Historical metal mining legacies
Until 31 December 1999, mine operators could abandon a mine without notifying anyone and did not have responsibility for dealing with pollution of rivers or groundwater that took place once their operations ceased.
The operators could be found guilty of causing pollution, but due to the complexities of historical mining, underground connections and mine ownership, it was difficult to prove that the act of abandoning a mine caused the pollution.
Today, mine operators have to comply with all current legislation; meaning they cannot allow mine water to pollute rivers, streams, lakes or groundwater. They’re also responsible for the costs of cleaning up any pollution that occurs once mining operations have ceased. However, most mines were abandoned many decades ago, before the current laws came into place.
That is why the government set up the Water and Abandoned Metal Mines programme, providing funds to the Mining Remediation Authority and the Environment Agency to clean up pollution caused by historical metal mining.