4 Cities and Provinces in Chungcheong Region Cooperate to Protect Daecheongho and Geumgang Aquatic Ecosystems

Officials from each city and province attending the Chungcheong Water Resources Win-Win Council are taking a commemorative photo after signing the agreement. Photo by Chungnam Province

[Asia Economy (Hongseong) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] Four cities and provinces in the Chungcheong region will cooperate to protect Daecheong Lake, the drinking water source for the Chungcheong people, and the Geum River aquatic ecosystem.

On the 22nd, Chungnam Province announced at the Chungnam Provincial Office that Daejeon City, Sejong City, and Chungbuk Province held the "Chungcheong Region Water Resources Win-Win Council" and decided to jointly respond for the rational distribution of water from Yongdam Dam.

At the council, the four cities and provinces signed a joint response memorandum of understanding and also adopted a proposal.

In the proposal, the council emphasized, "Water from Yongdam Dam should be released primarily in its natural state within the Geum River basin to secure stable water supply for the Chungcheong region, and the naturalness of the Geum River, where the aquatic ecosystem is preserved, must be continuously maintained."

This reflects the situation where, after the construction of Yongdam Dam, the amount of water inflow to Daecheong Dam decreased by an average of 56 tons per day, while pollution load increased, and is based on the recognition that further reduction in discharge could threaten the health of the drinking water source and the Geum River aquatic ecosystem.

In particular, the council also stated that the water supply and demand in the Jeonbuk region should maximize the connection and utilization of water sources within its own basin or alternative water resources, and that the overestimation of domestic and industrial water demand in the Jeonbuk region due to incorrect future population estimates in the dam master plan should be corrected through reassessment.

Previously, when Yongdam Dam was completed in 2001, the initial Geum River discharge volume of 430,000 tons per day was reduced to 750,000 tons per day, reflecting the results of a joint investigation committee's report.

Also, after the construction of Yongdam Dam, the inflow volume to Daecheong Dam decreased from 7.3 million tons per day to 6.73 million tons per day, a reduction of 570,000 tons.

The Yongdam Dam master plan, based on 2021, estimated the population using water in the Jeonbuk region at about 3.89 million and planned to supply an average of 1.35 million tons per day. However, as of this year, it has been confirmed that about 1.8 million people in the Jeonbuk region use approximately 600,000 tons per day.

On the other hand, in the Jeonbuk region, it is known that they are exploring ways to expand water supply to use the officially allocated 1.35 million tons as planned, coinciding with the end of the Yongdam Dam water supply adjustment period.

Accordingly, the council plans to promptly deliver the adopted proposal to the Water Management Committee.

Nam Jae Lee, Director of the Climate and Environment Bureau of the province, said, "We will work together with the Chungcheong and Jeonbuk regions to reasonably resolve the water issues that have persisted for over 30 years."

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