Yeongsangang Regional Environmental Office, Full Effort to Prevent Summer Algae Bloom Damage

Establishing and Responding to a Cooperative System with Related Organizations

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Yoon Jamin] The Yeongsangang River Basin Environmental Office (Director Ryu Yeon-gi) announced on the 24th that, with this summer expected to have higher temperatures and less rainfall than usual, it will establish a cooperative system with related organizations to respond to the occurrence of green algae blooms.

In this regard, a 'Water Quality Management Council' will be held, involving related organizations such as the Yeongsangang and Seomjingang River Basin Metropolitan Local Governments, the Korea Water Resources Corporation, and private experts.

Through the meeting, green algae management measures by each organization will be shared, and cooperation plans among related organizations in case of green algae occurrence will be the main focus of discussion.

First, to reduce pollutant inflow, total phosphorus discharge standards will be strengthened, and pollution sources such as various pollutant discharge sites within the water system will be intensively monitored and inspected.

The total phosphorus discharge standards for three public wastewater treatment plants upstream of frequent green algae areas will be strengthened and operated until September, and pollution sources such as wastewater discharge facilities will be intensively managed to reduce pollutant inflow.

Additionally, various monitoring systems will be established to monitor abandoned pollution sources such as livestock manure around rivers, and joint inspections with local governments will be conducted to suppress pollutant leakage.

A system is being established to continuously observe algae occurrence routes through drinking water source algae measurement, operation of automatic river water quality monitoring networks, and surveillance and river patrols using drones and environmental guardians.

Along with this, when green algae occur, response measures will be taken according to the algae warning stages through a joint response system with related organizations, focusing on securing the safety of drinking water through advanced treatment at water purification plants.

Algae mitigation and removal equipment such as water circulation devices, flow diffusion devices, surface aerators, and algae removal boats will be operated in green algae occurrence areas, and if mitigation measures are needed, reserved environmental response water will be discharged.

To ensure the safety of drinking water, in case of green algae occurrence, barriers will be installed near intake towers, intake points will be set at deeper layers where algae concentration is relatively low, and water purification treatment will be strengthened.

Ryu Yeon-gi, Director of the Yeongsangang River Basin Environmental Office, said, “To minimize damage caused by green algae occurrence in summer, we will closely cooperate with related organizations to respond effectively and do our best to ensure the stable supply of drinking water.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.