Explain how the presence of coal-fired electricity plants can affect the ability of lakes to support life?

Coal mining produces not only air pollution but solid waste; ash and flue - gas desulferization sludge (look it up), which contains toxic arsenic and radioactive uranium among other heavy metals. Water becomes polluted with these harmful substances through mountain top removal mining and so underwater creatures are poisoned and plants absorb deadly substances and die, which also contributes to the aquatic organisms death as the plants may have been a food source.