To solve the conflict between economic development and water environment and to better protectthe ecological environment of coal mining areas,we analyzed the field monitoring data regarding surfacewater environment and the hydrological data collected in coal mining areas of Northern Shaanxi Province.Evaluation of surface water environment safety was conducted according to the groundwater quality standard(GB3838-2002)and Nemerow Index.The results showed that most of the rivers met theⅤ grade of thestandard,such as Kuye River,Kuye River lake,Tuwei River,Yuxi River,Zhongyingpan Reservoir,andHongjiannao Lake.The capacity of surface water was reduced at an accelerated rate in the main mining areasafter the development of coal industry.Thus,we proposed“ water-mine bundle” model as a developmentmodel to solve the problem in water environment in coal mining areas.We also specified the procedures ofimplementation and evaluation regarding advantages and disadvantages.