Imsil-gun Selected as the Only 'Aquatic Ecosystem Continuity Securing Pilot Project' in the Province

Published 26 Oct.2023 15:30(KST)

On the 26th, Imsil-gun, Jeonbuk Province, announced that it was the only region in the province to be finally selected for the Ministry of Environment's pilot project to secure aquatic ecosystem continuity.

The county's Deokam Weir on the Seomjin River in Deokam-ri, Sinpyeong-myeon, was selected for the 2023 Ministry of Environment pilot project to secure aquatic ecosystem continuity, accelerating efforts to restore the health of the aquatic ecosystem.

Imsil-gun was the only district in the province to be finally selected for the pilot project contest to secure aquatic ecosystem continuity by the Ministry of Environment.
[Photo by Imsil-gun]

This project is a national government-funded project fully supported by the Ministry of Environment's budget, and only three locations nationwide, including Imsil-gun, were selected through the competition.

A total of 29 local governments applied for 120 river-crossing structures (37 rivers) in the competition, and based on selection criteria, three sites were finally chosen: one for weir installation and two for fishway installation.

Accordingly, the county is currently conducting basic and detailed design through the Korea Environment Corporation as a delegated project of the Ministry of Environment.

This pilot project aims to improve structures that damage or interrupt continuity within rivers, such as river-crossing structures, to restore the health and naturalness of river aquatic ecosystems.

The target site, Deokam Weir on the Seomjin River, has a river-crossing length of 138 meters and currently disrupts the continuity of the aquatic ecosystem between the upstream and downstream due to lack of consideration for fish migration functions, making fishway installation necessary to secure continuity.

Fish surveys at Deokam Weir showed that Cyprinidae species accounted for the largest portion, with 10 species making up 66.7% of the total fish species present.

The dominant species was Piraemi (Zacco platypus) with 185 individuals, accounting for 42.5%, and the subdominant species was Chammolgae (Coreoperca herzi) with 72 individuals, accounting for 16.6%.

To fulfill administrative procedures, the county visited the Korea Environment Corporation, the design firm, and the Yeongsan River Basin Environmental Office in July 2023 for preliminary consultations, and the design is currently 25.9% complete.

According to the design plan, two fishways?an ice harbor-type fishway and a riffle-type fishway?will be installed on both banks (left and right) of Deokam Weir to allow all resident fish species to migrate.

The county plans to obtain expert advice on the basic and detailed designs within this month, complete consultations regarding fishway installation with the National Institute of Freshwater Fisheries Science in December, and finalize the design.

Subsequently, construction to improve the Deokam Weir river-crossing structure is scheduled to begin in 2024.

County Governor Sim Min said, “We will actively support the administrative procedures to ensure the project proceeds without any setbacks,” adding, “We will do our best to ensure the smooth progress of the Seomjin River Deokam Weir aquatic ecosystem continuity project so that the river functions and aquatic ecosystem health of the Seomjin River can be restored.”