Anyangcheon Designated as Nonpoint Source Pollution Management Area... Securing National Subsidies

Anyangcheon Watershed Nonpoint Source Pollution Management Area

The Anyangcheon watershed in Gyeonggi-do has been designated as a non-point source pollution management area by the government.

Anyang City announced on the 8th that the Ministry of Environment designated and officially announced the Anyangcheon watershed (24.748㎢) within its jurisdiction as a non-point source pollution management area on the 31st of last month.

A non-point source pollution management area is a region where significant harm or concerns arise to the use of rivers and lakes, residents' health and property, or natural ecosystems due to non-point source pollution runoff during rainfall. These areas are designated upon application by local governments and consultation between the Ministry of Environment and provincial governments.

Once designated as a management area, local governments receive priority national subsidies for non-point source pollution reduction projects. In particular, the subsidy rate from the national treasury is increased from the existing 50% to 70%.

The newly designated Anyangcheon watershed includes areas such as Hogye-dong and Anyang-dong around Anyangcheon, and Pyeongchon-dong, Gwanyang-dong, and Bisan-dong around Hakui Stream. The impervious surface rate is high at 59.1%, and population and pollution sources are expected to increase due to the Pyeongchon New Town reconstruction project.

To obtain the designation, Anyang City initiated a feasibility study in July and actively conducted preliminary consultations with the Ministry of Environment. Subsequently, the final application was submitted in August, and within three months, the Anyangcheon watershed was designated as a non-point source pollution management area.

Anyang City plans to sequentially implement the Anyangcheon improvement project, including ▲ installation of non-point source pollution reduction facilities ▲ water quality improvement applying Low Impact Development (LID) techniques ▲ establishment of governance for citizen education and publicity, as soon as national funding is secured.

Choi Dae-ho, Mayor of Anyang City, stated, "We were able to quickly obtain the designation of Anyangcheon as a non-point source pollution management area, enabling us to promote projects related to reducing non-point source pollutants in line with the timing of the Pyeongchon New Town reconstruction." He added, "We will create a cleaner Anyangcheon and make Anyang a model city for water quality management."

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