Seoul City Significantly Reduces Sewage Odor Grade from 5 to 3 Around 'Hoegi Station' Area

Completion of 'Sewage Odor Improvement Pilot Project' around Hoegi Station... Customized Application of Latest Sewage Odor Reduction Technologies
Daily Maximum Odor Concentration Reduced by 76.5%... Local Residents Respond "Helps Improve Living Environment"

Fine Water Spray Odor Reduction Facility

Sewage Odor Measurement Facility

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Seoul City announced on the 24th that the application of the latest sewage odor reduction technologies tailored to the area around Hoegi Station has significantly improved the odor level from the worst grade ‘5’ to a moderate grade ‘3’.

Seoul City installed an ‘air-injection type sulfur-oxidizing microorganism carrier device’ in the ‘septic tanks’ where a lot of odor is generated due to sewage. The microorganisms consume and eliminate the odor-causing substances. Inside the sewage pipelines, a ‘fine water spray odor reduction facility’ was installed. This facility uses the property of hydrogen sulfide (an odor-causing substance) dissolving in water to spray fine water inside the pipes to capture the odor. Additionally, an ‘adsorption decomposition odor removal facility’ using composite adsorbents was installed to adsorb and remove odor gases at room temperature.

Since launching the ‘Sewage Odor Improvement Pilot Project’ around Hoegi Station in July last year, Seoul City completed the installation of sewage odor reduction facilities equipped with the latest technologies in septic tanks and sewage pipelines within 10 months and successfully concluded the pilot operation. The total budget invested was 455 million KRW. Comparing the odor concentration measured before and after the pilot project showed that the ‘sewage odor reduction facilities’ were effective. After the project, the odor concentration decreased by 76.5% based on the daily maximum value and by 42.6% based on the average value.

Furthermore, a survey conducted among 100 residents around Hoegi Station, who had previously complained about sewage odor, revealed that 67% of all respondents felt that Seoul City’s ‘sewage odor reduction project helped improve their living environment.’ Regarding whether there is a need for Seoul City to continue sewage odor reduction projects to improve citizens’ living environments, 98% of survey participants responded positively with ‘yes.’

The ‘Sewage Odor Improvement Pilot Project’ around Hoegi Station was promoted as part of the ‘Seoul-type Sewage Odor Target Management System,’ which manages sewage odor occurrence areas in a customized manner. Following the Hoegi Station area, the city plans to complete odor reduction projects by the end of this year in 29 areas across Seoul, including the COEX vicinity, where odor complaints have been reported.

Additionally, the city aims to incorporate the results of this pilot project into the ‘Seoul Sewage Odor Reduction Basic Plan,’ scheduled for completion by the end of May, so that all 25 autonomous districts can refer to it for odor management. Han Yoo-seok, Director of the Water Circulation Safety Bureau of Seoul City, said, “We are pleased to have successfully completed the sewage odor reduction pilot project around Hoegi Station, enabling citizens to live in a more pleasant environment,” and added, “We will continue to promote customized sewage odor reduction projects tailored to the characteristics of each region throughout Seoul to create a premium Seoul street free of sewage odor.”

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