Gyeonggi-do Requests Support for Maintenance Costs of Agricultural Reservoirs Damaged by Floods

[Asia Economy (Uijeongbu) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Gyeonggi Province has requested the government to provide national funding support for the maintenance costs of agricultural reservoirs in the province damaged by heavy rain.

On the 6th, Gyeonggi Province announced that it delivered a proposal letter containing this request to the Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs on the 5th.

In the letter, the province stated, "Heavy rain from August 1 to 3 caused significant damage in the province, especially the collapse of agricultural reservoirs, which led to flooding of houses in downstream areas and damage and burial of farmland, roads, and rivers. The reservoirs affected by the flood are aging agricultural production infrastructure built 50 years ago, not meeting current reservoir facility design standards, and are very vulnerable in terms of disaster functions such as flood (water level) control."

It added, "We request expanded national funding support for the project budget required for comprehensive improvement, repair, and reinforcement of facilities to meet reservoir facility standards and for maintenance management."

There are a total of 337 agricultural reservoirs in the province, of which 94 are managed by the Korea Rural Community Corporation, and the remaining 243 are managed by the 31 cities and counties within the province.

Among the reservoirs managed by cities and counties, 78% are over 50 years old.

The province explained that since the current reservoir design standards have been strengthened to withstand the largest flood volume recorded in the past 200 years (flood frequency of 200 years), facilities must be comprehensively reinforced accordingly and integrated management should be enabled by linking with an automated water level rise system.

Additionally, among the reservoirs managed by cities and counties, four reservoirs rated below safety grade D are designated as disaster-risk reservoirs with 50% national funding support, but considering the poor local finances, the province insists that this support should be expanded to 70%.

Previously, Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung proposed this during a heavy rain preparedness meeting chaired by President Moon Jae-in on the 4th. Deputy Governor Kim Hee-gyeom also requested national funding support when Minister of the Interior and Safety Jin Young visited the flood site at Sanyang Reservoir in Icheon on the 3rd.

Meanwhile, starting from the 5th, the province, together with cities, counties, and the Gyeonggi Regional Headquarters of the Korea Rural Community Corporation, began an emergency inspection of 243 agricultural reservoirs managed by cities and counties in the province to prepare for heavy rain damage.

During this inspection, the province will focus on identifying risks of reservoir collapse and thoroughly check facilities such as reservoir embankments, spillways, and drainage channels, as well as management status.

If any abnormalities in facilities are found during the inspection, immediate emergency repairs and reinforcements will be carried out, and continuous monitoring activities will be strengthened.

Kim Chung-beom, Director of the Agricultural and Maritime Affairs Bureau of the province, emphasized, "We will open the sluice gates of about 120 city and county-managed reservoirs and those managed by the Rural Community Corporation within the range that does not cause damage to downstream farmland or river flooding to prepare for additional heavy rain. We will do our best to ensure the safety of residents and prevent damage through water level control and emergency inspections of reservoirs."

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