Gwangju Seo-gu 'Green Rainwater Infrastructure Development Project' Promotion

Published 08 Jul.2021 13:26(KST)

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Shin Dong-ho] Seo-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City (Mayor Seo Dae-seok) held the final briefing session on the 7th after completing the detailed design of the ‘Green Rainwater Infrastructure Construction Project’ targeting the Seo-gu Office building and a 0.044㎢ area around Majae Neighborhood Park.

According to Seo-gu on the 8th, this project is part of building an ecological city that healthily restores the urban water circulation system, which has been disrupted by development, by utilizing discarded rainwater. It uses Low Impact Development (LID) techniques and is expected to be completed by the end of next year.

‘Low Impact Development’ is an urban development technique that uses eco-friendly methods to reduce non-point pollution sources, whose runoff volume and discharge points are difficult to identify, thereby restoring the urban water circulation state to be close to that before development.

The core of the project is to reduce rainfall runoff and pollutant discharge by enhancing rainwater infiltration into the ground through permeable pavement, infiltration ditches, tree filter boxes, and vegetated retention basins.

The ‘Green Rainwater Infrastructure Construction Project’ was designed after reviewing the suitability of the project site with the Ministry of Environment, conducting ground surveys and rainfall monitoring, and underwent technical reviews by environmental expert institutions such as the National Institute of Environmental Research and the Korea Environment Corporation, followed by approval from the Ministry of Environment.

The design reflected the opinions of a TF team composed of related departments including the Construction Division, Parks and Greenery Division, and Accounting Information Division. Upon completion of this briefing session, construction will begin at Majae Neighborhood Park and is planned to be completed at the Seo-gu Office by next year.

This design introduced ▲ infiltration ditches ▲ circular infiltration trenches ▲ vegetated ditches ▲ infiltration trenches ▲ crushed stone storage tanks ▲ plant cultivation pots ▲ permeable concrete ▲ and gap permeable blocks.

Other rainwater utilization facilities such as a rainwater pergola with an automatic watering system and eco-friendly bus shelters are planned to be installed, with a total project cost reaching 2 billion KRW, including national and city funds.

Seo Dae-seok, Mayor of Seo-gu, said, “We will continuously carry out water circulation projects to lay the foundation for realizing an ecological city in Seo-gu,” and added, “We aim to enhance the effectiveness of the water circulation project through thorough implementation.”