Yongsan-gu Establishes Nation's First 'Smart Sewer Monitoring System'

Prevention of Summer Flood Damage and Creation of Comfortable Living Environment: Installation of About 30 Monitoring Devices in 3-4 Flood-Prone Areas by July... Development of Flood Prediction Model and Odor Map... Expansion to 400 Locations by 2023

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Yongsan-gu (Mayor Seongjang Hyun) has become the first in the nation to launch the construction of an IoT-based smart sewer monitoring system (Thinking Clean Project).

This is to prevent flood damage during the summer by continuously monitoring sewer pipe water levels and measuring odor gas concentrations, thereby creating a pleasant residential environment.

The project is being carried out in partnership with SKC Infrastructure Service. By July, about 30 monitoring devices will be installed at 3 to 4 flood-prone areas within the district for verification work.

In particular, data on the volume of sewage inflow and outflow in flood-prone areas, hydrogen sulfide (H2S) levels in the sewer, odor concentration, and occurrence timing will be collected and linked with the district’s big data platform to be established by the end of this year, making it available to citizens and used for formulating sewer policies.

Additionally, the district plans to develop its own model to predict flooding by comparing water level measurements from the system with actual rainfall patterns and complaint occurrences.

A new sewer “odor map” tailored to the district’s conditions will also be constructed.

The monitoring devices are being manufactured as “manhole cover insertion type” to avoid inconvenience to pedestrian traffic. The communication network will utilize IoT-dedicated LoRa.

The budget required is 100 million KRW. Last year, the district signed a pilot project agreement with SKC Infrastructure Service and has been producing equipment since then.

A district official said, “The IoT-based sewer monitoring system does not require power lines or data transmission cables, making installation and relocation easy and cost-effective,” adding, “After pilot operation this year, the project will expand to 400 locations prone to sewer backflow and odor by 2023.”

The district also submitted the related project to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety’s “2021 Regional Balanced New Deal Excellent Project Contest.” It has passed the first round of document screening and is preparing for the second round of online public voting (Gwanghwamun 1st Street) from June 10 to June 14. The third round of presentation evaluation will follow at the end of June.

Alongside the sewer monitoring system construction, the district is also conducting a smart sewer odor improvement project. Based on the odor map data established last year, odor reduction facilities and blocking devices will be installed at 200 locations such as local sewer pipes and rainwater inlets this month.

Seongjang Hyun, Mayor of Yongsan-gu, said, “Yongsan is transforming into a smart city moment by moment,” and added, “Through the IoT-based sewer monitoring system, we will prevent flood damage and proactively prevent odor generation.”

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