Gwangju City Exceeds Total Nitrogen Emission Reduction Target 'Achieved'

Gwangju City Hall

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Gwangju Metropolitan City announced on the 26th that it has achieved the 2020 discharge reduction target as a result of the 'Strengthened Operation of Total Phosphorus Treatment at Sewage Treatment Facilities' promoted to prevent the occurrence of green algae in summer.

The achievement of the target reduction amount for each sewage treatment plant is calculated and evaluated by the Ministry of Environment using the final discharge flow and total phosphorus concentration from the Water Quality Remote Monitoring System (TMS). This was piloted in 2016 in the upper regions of the Han River and Nakdong River and has been expanded to the entire four major rivers since 2018.

This year, Gwangju set the total phosphorus discharge reduction target for the No. 1 and No. 2 sewage treatment plants at 1.4 tons, which is about 10% of the 2015 discharge amount, and began strengthened operation of total phosphorus treatment facilities from May to September.

Total phosphorus contained in sewage can be removed by treatment using microorganisms and chemically by adding coagulants to precipitate it. Gwangju Environment Corporation operated the facilities by evaluating the treatment efficiency of each process and determining the optimal dosage of coagulants through its own research group.

Through this, they achieved a reduction of 2.4 tons, far exceeding the initial reduction target of 1.4 tons. This marks the third consecutive year of achieving the target since the evaluation began.

Gwangju analyzed that the achievement of the target was possible thanks to the professional process management by Gwangju Environment Corporation, which manages the sewage treatment plants.

Previously, Gwangju Environment Corporation was selected as an excellent facility in the '2019 Public Sewage Treatment Facility Technical Diagnosis Completion Facility Operation and Management Evaluation' on the 8th, due to effective water quality management such as improving the quality of discharged water and treating sewage sludge.

Lee Hanguk, head of the Sewage Management Division of the city, said, “Total phosphorus is a substance abundantly contained in sewage that causes green algae in rivers, leading to water quality deterioration, odor generation, and mass fish deaths. Strengthened management is essential to improve the water quality of the Yeongsan River, and we will continue to do our best to improve the water quality of the Yeongsan River and preserve the aquatic ecosystem by reducing pollutant discharge from sewage treatment plants.”

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