Will 5 Rivers Including Hantan River, Tancheon, Anyangcheon, Gongneungcheon, and Heukcheon Be Upgraded to National Rivers?

On the 3rd, Han Hwa-jin, Minister of Environment, visited Cheongmicheon in Icheon City and received an explanation about the river from Gyeonggi Province officials.

Gyeonggi Province has proposed to the government the elevation of five local rivers within the province?Hantan River, Tancheon Stream, Anyangcheon Stream, Gongneungcheon Stream, and Heukcheon Stream?to national river status in preparation for flood and storm damage.

On the 3rd, Gyeonggi Province announced on the 4th that Jeong Seon-woo, Director of the Provincial Construction Bureau, submitted this proposal to Han Hwa-jin, Minister of Environment, who accompanied him during an on-site inspection of Cheongmicheon Stream in Icheon City.

If elevated to national river status, maintenance projects for these rivers will receive stronger support, contributing to the protection of residents' lives and property by preventing flood damage. Typically, local river maintenance projects are fully funded by provincial budgets, but upon elevation to national river status, all maintenance and management costs are covered by the national government.

Gyeonggi Province currently has 20 national rivers and 498 local rivers. The maintenance rate for national rivers is 81.3%, whereas for local rivers it is relatively low at 53.1%.

Looking at the local rivers proposed for elevation, the Hantan River, which flows from Cheorwon County in Gangwon Province to Jeongok-eup in Yeoncheon County, has a watershed area of 2,085 km², exceeding the national river designation requirement of 200 km². Additionally, since its tributary, Sincheon Stream, was elevated to national river status in January 2020, it is necessary to elevate the main river to maintain a consistent river system.

The Tancheon Stream, flowing from Cheongdeok-dong in Giheung-gu, Yongin City to Gangnam-gu in Seoul, has a watershed area of 303 km² and passes through more than two administrative regions, including Gyeonggi Province and Seoul, necessitating integrated national-level river management.

Heukcheon Stream, with a watershed area of 314 km², is the main river flowing through Yangpyeong County, an area prone to frequent flooding. Anyangcheon Stream (from Uiwang to Anyang) and Gongneungcheon Stream (from Yangju to Goyang) have watershed areas under 200 km² but meet other designation criteria as rivers flowing through cities with populations exceeding 200,000, thus requiring elevation to national river status.

A Gyeonggi Province official stated, "Through the elevation of local rivers within the province to national river status, we will promote balanced and systematic river maintenance between national and local rivers to maximize disaster prevention effects and will do our best to achieve this."

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