Gwangyang City Develops 'Natural-Style River' Habitat for Aquatic Organisms

Through the Dolbo Installation Project, the River Revives as a Living Ecosystem

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Hyung-kwon] Gwangyang City announced that through a stone weir installation project using natural stones within rivers, Okryong Chusancheon, Bonggang Seocheon, Okgok Okgokcheon, and Jinsang Suoecheon are being newly developed into ‘natural rivers’ where clear water flows and aquatic organisms can inhabit.

Since the 10th, the city has been promoting a natural stone weir installation project that can replace the roles of riffles and pools in areas lacking river water where aquatic organisms cannot live, such as a 1 km section where sediment dredging of Chusancheon along the access road to Baegunsan Natural Recreation Forest has been completed.

Riffles supply oxygen and increase water velocity to provide food for aquatic plants, while pools hold water and slow down the flow, enabling self-purification processes such as sedimentation, adsorption, and decomposition of pollutants, thereby providing habitats for aquatic organisms. This project involves installing eco-friendly stone weirs that can perform the functions of riffles and pools.

The installation sites total 18 locations (Chusancheon 13, Seocheon 1, Okgokcheon 2, Suoecheon 2). Currently, 13 sites in Okryong Chusancheon and 1 site in Bonggang Seocheon have been completed, and construction in Okgokcheon and Suoecheon is expected to be finished by mid-next month.

This project was initiated in line with Mayor Jeong Hyun-bok of Gwangyang City’s ongoing concerns about protecting river ecosystems and securing landscapes. It has received favorable reviews from local residents and visitors, and is regarded as a good example of budget savings by utilizing the city’s excavators during the challenging times of COVID-19.

Mayor Jeong Hyun-bok of Gwangyang City stated, “We will continue to promote this project to transform local rivers into natural rivers where aquatic organisms can live by installing stone weirs using natural stones within local rivers. We will strive to make local rivers reborn as clear water rivers full of life, providing an eco-friendly resting space for citizens exhausted by the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.”

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