Ministry of Environment-K-water "Floating debris carried to dams by monsoon rain... to be cleared within 2 weeks"

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[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] The Ministry of Environment and Korea Water Resources Corporation announced on the 17th that they will promptly collect and dispose of floating debris and waste that flowed into dams nationwide, including Daecheong Dam, due to the recent heavy rains.

During the heavy rain period from the 12th to the 15th, approximately 17,000 tons (㎥) of floating waste flowed into 12 dams across the country, with a concentrated inflow particularly in the Daecheong Dam area (11,000 tons).

About 80% of the inflowing floating debris consists of vegetation such as grass and dead trees that were along the riverbanks. The remainder is estimated to be household waste generated from floodplains and other areas.

Over the past five years, the average annual amount of floating debris flowing into dams nationwide during flood seasons has been about 70,000 tons, with significant variations depending on the intensity of summer heavy rainfall and the presence of typhoons.

The Ministry of Environment expects that most of the waste flowing into the dams is trapped within floating debris barriers, and by concentrating equipment such as collection vessels and excavators, all debris can be collected within two weeks. The collected floating debris will be sorted by type to maximize recycling of cans, glass bottles, PET bottles, etc., while the remaining household waste will be promptly disposed of.

To reduce the amount of floating debris inflow in advance, the Ministry of Environment, in cooperation with the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, operated a waste cleanup week last month in preparation for the monsoon season, collecting about 6,200 tons of household waste. Going forward, joint cleanup activities targeting abandoned waste in dams, rivers, and estuaries nationwide will be conducted in cooperation with Korea Water Resources Corporation and related local governments.

Park Mi-ja, Director of the Water Environment Policy Bureau at the Ministry of Environment, stated, "We will carry out prompt cleanup activities following the recent heavy rains to provide the public with clean and healthy drinking water sources," adding, "We will continue efforts to reduce the inflow of floating debris by jointly inspecting major tourist sites and debris sources with local governments."

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