Daejeon Saemmeori Park Reborn as a 'Water Circulation Theme Park'

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] Saemmeori Park, the center of the green axis in Dunsan area of Daejeon, has been reborn as a ‘Water Circulation Theme Park’.

According to Daejeon City on the 15th, the city, Korea Environment Corporation, and the Ministry of Environment have been conducting a water circulation project since September last year in the Dunsan and Wolpyeong-dong areas of Daejeon (2.67 km), and as the first result, completed the creation of Saemmeori Park as a ‘Water Circulation Theme Park’.

Saemmeori Park was established in 1988 as an urban neighborhood park on a site of about 35,500 pyeong (117,307㎡) in Dunsan-dong, Seo-gu. However, after 30 years, the facilities became outdated, and the concrete and cement covering most of the site blocked rainwater circulation, making it a representative impermeable park in the area.

The water circulation project focused on redeveloping Saemmeori Park into a ‘Water Circulation Theme Park’ by integrating various low-impact development (LID) facilities for rainwater infiltration and storage.

First, the city removed all the central concrete and obstacles in Saemmeori Park to create a grass plaza and replaced the old inline track with a permeable inline skating rink.

Additionally, rainwater gardens such as vegetated retention ponds and natural water channels were created within the park, where waterwheels and scissor pumps were installed to enable the park to function as a rainwater experiential learning center.

Moreover, a rainwater maze for water path exploration, mist shade shelters for fine dust reduction, wall fountain shade shelters, and vegetated rainwater retention support facilities were established to allow visitors to experience the rainwater circulation process. A water-play type ground fountain was also created to provide a resting space for citizens visiting the park.

In particular, the project reduced the amount of rainwater runoff discharged from Saemmeori Park by 21.6%, or about 108,000 tons annually, compared to before, and increased rainwater infiltration by 32.4%, or about 7,700 tons. Accordingly, the city expects the water circulation recovery rate to rise from the previous 42.1% to 61.0%, an increase of 18.9 percentage points.

With the completion of the low-impact development facility construction, Saemmeori Park now has a rainwater storage capacity of 4,357 tons per rainfall event, serving as an ‘urban rainwater reservoir.’ Through this, the city expects to solve problems such as flooding, drought, groundwater depletion, and heat island effects near the park.

Meanwhile, the city is currently conducting water circulation projects in six parks with vegetated facilities, ten government offices, and along 24.8 km of major roads, with the entire construction expected to be completed by October next year.

The project is a green infrastructure expansion project that applies low-impact development techniques such as creating vegetated retention ponds, installing infiltration ditches, and permeable pavement to restore urban water circulation functions. Through this project, the city plans to transform Daejeon into a carbon-neutral city.

Heo Tae-jung, Mayor of Daejeon, said, “Rainwater facilities, which are the core of a water circulation city, are expected to bring effects such as water quality improvement, heat island mitigation, and urban carbon absorption without using fossil fuels.” He added, “Through the water circulation project, the city will reduce impermeable surfaces in the urban area and increase the water circulation rate, enabling Daejeon to become the nation’s leading water circulation city and a carbon-neutral city.”

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