Sulphate balance of lakes and shallow groundwater in the Vasavere buried valley, Northeast Estonia

Groundwater is an important component of many water resource systems supplying water for domestic use, industry, and agriculture. In recent years the attention has been focused on groundwater contamination by mine water. Decline in mining activities and introduction of new technologies together with economic measures has improved the situation but much should be done during coming years. Oil shale mining brings about changes in the groundwater regime and chemical composition. The correlation between the natural (meteorological and hydrological) and technogenic (mining-technological, hydrogeological, hydrochemical) factors caused by the oil shale mining in the Vasavere valley during 1970-2000 has been studied. As a result of extensive drainage of mining shafts and water consumption, the groundwater table has noticeably lowered in the area and sulphate content in lakes and groundwater is especially high