Install Three Dam Gates to Protect the 'World Heritage'... Conclusion of the Research Service for Preserving Bangudae Petroglyphs

'Feasibility Study for Sayondam Sluice Gate Installation' Completed

Optimal Installation of 3 Sluice Gates ... Lowering Water Level to Yeosu

Bangu-dae Petroglyphs, Ulju-gun, Ulsan.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] A proposal has emerged to install about three sluice gates at Sayun Dam to preserve the prehistoric petroglyphs of Bangudae in Ulsan.

Ulsan City announced on the 18th that it has completed the "Feasibility Study on Installing Sluice Gates at Sayun Dam (Spillway)" and that this sluice gate installation plan is the most effective.

This study concretizes the plan to install sluice gates at Sayun Dam, which was presented in last year's government announcement on "Preservation Measures for Bangudae Petroglyphs through Safe Water Management."

The Bangudae Petroglyphs, a national treasure, are a historic site of global value that depicts prehistoric life, including humanity's earliest whale hunting activities.

However, located within the reservoir area upstream of Sayun Dam, the petroglyphs have faced issues such as submersion and damage during heavy rainfall.

To establish a permanent preservation plan for the Bangudae Petroglyphs, Ulsan City began a study in May last year to analyze the effects of installing sluice gates at Sayun Dam.

Ulsan City, the Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the Cultural Heritage Administration, and the Korea Water Resources Corporation jointly reviewed the reduction in flooding time due to sluice gate installation, water supply amounts before and after Sayun Dam water level control, the impact of discharge on the surrounding area, and project costs.

During the study, three options were considered: installing three sluice gates at the Sayun Dam spillway, installing one sluice gate at the spillway, and adjusting the spillway height without installing sluice gates.

The recently completed study concluded that the optimal method for preserving the Bangudae Petroglyphs is to install three sluice gates, each 15 meters wide and 7.3 meters high, at the 47-meter point of the Sayun Dam spillway.

With three sluice gates installed, the current Sayun Dam spillway water level of 60 meters would be lowered to 52.2 meters, preventing the submersion of the Bangudae Petroglyphs located at 53 meters elevation.

When inflow increases due to heavy rain or other factors causing the dam to exceed full capacity, the sluice gates would be opened to prevent flooding of the petroglyphs.

According to this plan, the average annual flooding time of the Bangudae Petroglyphs would be reduced to within one hour, and even during extreme floods occurring once every 200 years, complete submersion would be avoided with a maximum flooding duration of 18 hours.

This level is similar to natural conditions without a dam, according to the study.

Compared to the previous average annual flooding period of 1 to 5 months for the Bangudae Petroglyphs, this represents a dramatic reduction in flooding time.

The construction cost is estimated at 57.6 billion KRW, and if implemented alongside dam safety projects, the total is expected to be 79.6 billion KRW. However, installing three sluice gates would reduce water supply from Sayun Dam.

This study has demonstrated preservation measures through sluice gate installation, and it is expected to positively influence the 2025 inscription of the Bangudae Petroglyphs as a World Heritage site.

An official from Ulsan City stated, "Preserving the Bangudae Petroglyphs and supplying clean water to Ulsan are inseparable important tasks, and we aim to solve both simultaneously," adding, "We will cooperate closely with central government agencies to achieve results that citizens expect."

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