The effluents from coal washeries cause serious pollution problems to surface waters. Models have been developed to evaluate the dispersion of pollutants in the river. For the removal of suspended solids from the coal washery effluents the aid of a synthetic flocculant was found to be very effective in terms of settling rate, retention time and cost. For sustainable water supplies to the coal washeries the methodology developed was found to be very effective and may also be applicable to other washeries.