Rehabilitating contaminated water treatment media with resource recovery

Dissolved metals are removed from contaminated water by passing the water through a bed containing media bodies, preferably limestone bodies. Various contaminants carried by the water become associated with the media bodies, thereby inhibiting water flow. The media bodies are rehabilitated by using an excavator, loader, or other machine to scoop them into a bucket having a peripheral wall including a sieve, immersing the container into a liquid held in a wash pit, rotating the bucket so that contaminants abraded from the bodies fall through the sieve into the pit, removing the container from the liquid, and dumping the rehabilitated media bodies from the bucket. When the media bodies have filtered mine drainage containing a particular dissolved metal such as manganese or iron for example, a residue remaining in the basin is a rich source of metal compounds that can be recovered for economic use.