Gwangju City Promotes Expansion of Sewage Treatment and Public Sewage Systems

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Gwangju Metropolitan City announced on the 23rd that it will promote safe sewage treatment and public sewer expansion projects to create a pleasant living environment for its citizens.

This project will be carried out as one of the ‘4 Major Development Strategies and 12 Core Projects’ for innovating the sewage management system, with an investment of 130 billion KRW.

First, under the ‘Infrastructure Construction’ strategy, the city will implement ▲installation of new sewage trunk pipelines ▲separation of rainwater and sewage in Central District 6 ▲rural village sewage improvement projects. To strengthen ‘Stability,’ it will conduct ▲detailed inspections of aging sewage pipelines ▲maintenance of aging sewage pipelines ▲improve the accuracy of the sewage geographic information system ▲establish urban flood prevention measures.

Additionally, under the ‘Facility Modernization’ strategy, the city will carry out ▲upgrades to the 1st Sewage Treatment Plant ▲energy self-sufficiency projects at the 2nd Sewage Treatment Plant. To realize ‘Citizen-Centered Services,’ various projects will be promoted to create an ecological city where people and nature coexist, including ▲enhancing the stability and efficiency of sewage treatment plants ▲reducing odors at the 2nd Sewage Treatment Plant ▲construction of public wastewater treatment facilities in industrial complexes.

First, to prevent sewage overflow accidents and improve water quality, an exclusive sewage pipeline (8.7 km from Sinangyo Bridge to the 1st Sewage Treatment Plant) will be installed by 2024 to directly transport sewage from areas where sewage separation has been completed to the sewage treatment plant.

Also, by 2025, 62.8 billion KRW will be invested in the rainwater and sewage separation project in Central District 6. Upon completion, septic tanks installed in each household will be closed, eliminating the odor problems and the burden of sewage treatment costs that residents have experienced.

Small-scale village sewage improvement projects will continue to improve the residential environment and prevent river pollution in rural villages located outside the sewage treatment areas. This year, 3.4 billion KRW will be spent to improve eight locations including Pyeongchon, Daeji, and Gukryong villages.

To systematically maintain aging sewage pipelines over 20 years old, a second detailed inspection will be conducted. With an investment of 6.4 billion KRW, CCTV and visual inspections will be carried out inside 963 km of aging pipelines to check for damage, leaks, and overall condition, and urgent repairs will be made.

Efforts will also be actively made to modernize sewage treatment plants for stable operation and efficient management system establishment.

Due to the continuous increase in sewage inflow, the upgrade project for the 1st Sewage Treatment Plant, which has reached its capacity limit, will be actively pursued, while the 2nd Sewage Treatment Plant’s energy self-sufficiency project aims to reduce operating costs and recycle energy sources.

In addition, to safely treat factory wastewater generated in new industrial complexes, the wastewater treatment facility in Pyeongdong 3rd Industrial Complex, completed last year, will begin temporary operation from February, and the Bitgreen Industrial Complex from September. The Urban High-tech and Energy Valley is scheduled for completion next year.

Gwangju City expects that through this project, a healthy and happy living environment for citizens will be created and the water quality of the Yeongsan River and Gwangju Stream will be improved.

Jang Woo-hyun, head of the city’s Sewage Management Division, said, “We will do our best to improve public hygiene through proper management of sewage facilities and to preserve the natural state of public water bodies.”

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