Yongin City Promotes Yulgokcheon Water Quality Improvement Project

by Jung Doohwan

Published 28 Mar.2024 08:13(KST)

39 Billion Invested to Install Artificial Wetlands and More by 2028

Yongin City in Gyeonggi Province announced on the 28th that it will carry out a water quality improvement project, including the installation of artificial wetlands, targeting Yulgokcheon, a tributary of Baekam Cheongmicheon, by 2028.

Yulgokcheon is a tributary flowing into Cheongmicheon, which belongs to the Namhan River basin. However, due to the concentration of large-scale livestock farms nearby and dry stream conditions during drought periods, the water quality has dropped to grade 4, classified as 'poor,' making improvement urgent.

Yulgokcheon Stream, where Yongin City is promoting a water quality improvement project. [Photo by Yongin City]

Accordingly, Yulgokcheon has been selected as a 'Integrated and Concentrated Improvement Project Site' by the Ministry of Environment, with 3.9 billion KRW allocated for water quality improvement projects by 2028. The integrated and concentrated pollution river improvement project is a program that provides intensive short-term budget support to improve river water quality and restore ecological health.

The city plans to invest 2.2 billion KRW to create artificial wetlands downstream as a facility to reduce non-point source pollution from livestock farms and other sources. Non-point source pollution refers to contamination caused by diffuse sources that cannot be pinpointed to a specific discharge point, such as pollution from widespread or regional sources. This includes river pollution caused by fertilization or pesticide application in farmland and soil erosion.

Additionally, the city will invest 1.7 billion KRW to install upstream small reservoirs (storage facilities) and ecological ponds to secure water flow, and restore ecological rivers by constructing vegetated embankments to prevent sediment inflow and habitats for Korean bullhead fish (Beoldeulchi).