Preliminary Guidance document for Authorisation and
Wetpit mining involves the use of a dragline or hydraulic excavator to remove sand or gravel from below the water table or in a perennial stream channel. In wet pits dewatering or partial dewatering is frequently undertaken to allow the site to be more easily excavated. The decision to dewater or not will depend on the deposit thickness, permeability of the sand and gravel, the use of the ground water aquifer