Yongsan-gu Hannam Stormwater Pump Station Capacity Doubled

City and District Budgets of 15.3 Billion KRW Invested for Construction Over 3 Years and 2 Months Starting May 2017

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] “Following the expansion project of disaster prevention facilities around Hangang-ro in 2018, the expansion project of the Hannam-dong rainwater pumping station has also been completed. I would like to express my gratitude to the residents who supported us to complete this long-awaited local project within my term.”

These were the words of Seong Jang-hyun, Mayor of Yongsan-gu, who conducted an on-site inspection of the Hannam rainwater pumping station with local residents on July 28.

Yongsan-gu (Mayor Seong Jang-hyun) invested 15.3 billion KRW from city and district budgets to complete the capacity expansion project of the Hannam rainwater pumping station (531-3 Hannam-dong).

The construction lasted for 3 years and 2 months from May 2017 to July 2020, and in addition to expanding the pumping station facilities and mechanical equipment, improvements were made to the inflow sewage pipelines, a multi-level parking lot was constructed, and covers were installed on the uncovered sections of the Hannam retention basin.

The pumping station’s size (total floor area) increased by 50%, from 1,058㎡ to 1,588㎡. A single-story building (530㎡) was newly constructed next to the existing two-story building, and mechanical equipment such as motor pumps (534 tons/min × 3 units) and a debris remover (floating debris collection device) were installed. The discharge capacity (rainwater treatment capacity) was more than doubled from 1,200 tons per minute to 2,560 tons per minute.

The sewage pipeline improvements were carried out throughout Hannam-dong. A 1.4 km section of sewage pipeline, identified as having insufficient flow capacity, was fully expanded to withstand rainfall with a 30-year frequency (95 mm per hour).

A district official said, “In September 2010, heavy rain reaching 80 mm per hour caused flooding in 88 houses in the Hannam-dong area alone. Since the facility capacity has been expanded from a 10-year to a 30-year frequency, concerns about flood damage can be significantly reduced.”

The district also completed the multi-level parking lot project at the Hannam retention basin public parking lot last year, as the number of parking spaces significantly decreased from 159 to 85 due to the new pumping station building.

Initially, the district did not plan to build a multi-level parking lot, but considering the inconvenience to regular users of the facility, the plan was changed. As a result, the parking lot now has 124 spaces over two floors.

Additionally, the district addressed odor complaints from the Hannam retention basin and aesthetic complaints regarding the pumping station. Covers were installed on the uncovered sections of the retention basin, and a greening project was carried out on the roof of the new pumping station.

Mayor Seong Jang-hyun said, “I feel relieved to have solved a long-standing local issue, and the district will do its best to ensure that not a single flood occurs this summer.”

Since May, the district has also formed and operated a Disaster Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (DSCH) for flood and wind disaster preparedness. It will operate for five months until mid-October. The DSCH consists of a headquarters chief (district mayor), deputy chief (vice mayor), controller (director of Safety and Construction Bureau), support cooperation officer (director of Administrative Support Bureau), and 13 task forces. Each task force is responsible for overall disaster management, disaster publicity, administrative support, traffic measures, medical quarantine, emergency recovery, and other duties during disasters.

According to weather forecasts, the district implements emergency duty for public officials in three stages: Stage 1 - Caution (heavy rain advisory, typhoon advisory, strong wind advisory), Stage 2 - Alert (heavy rain warning, flood advisory, typhoon warning, strong wind warning), and Stage 3 - Serious (flood warning, occurrence of many disaster victims).

For 150 households under intensive flood damage management, 145 care officials are operating to provide one-on-one close monitoring.

Hannam Rainwater Pump Station

In the event of a large-scale flood or collapse accident, an on-site command post will be established to manage the situation, carry out damage recovery, conduct briefings, and handle civil complaints at the accident site. The on-site command post will be composed of the district on-site situation room, emergency rescue control team, disaster management governance, and district on-site recovery support team.

The district also operates a smart flood control system. Last year, it became the first autonomous district in Seoul to establish this system, providing customized local information such as weather alerts and rainfall data from the Korea Meteorological Administration and Ministry of Environment, water levels at key points in Yongsan-gu (Hangang), and shelter status.

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