76.7% of 49 Gyeonggi-do Rivers Have 'Good Water' Quality

River Sample Collection

The proportion of ‘good water’ in 49 rivers in Gyeonggi Province was recorded at 76.7%.

The Gyeonggi-do Institute of Health and Environment announced on the 1st that, based on water quality analysis conducted from January to December 2023 on 133 points across 49 rivers in the Han River basin including Namhan River, Bukhan River, Han River, Anseongcheon, and Sihwaho, 102 points (76.7%) were evaluated as ‘good water’ with a Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) standard of Grade 2 (slightly good) or higher according to the ‘River Living Environment Standard’.

The proportion of good water (Grades 1?2) increased by 5.3 percentage points from 71.4% in 2022. The achievement rate of target standards also rose by 5.2 percentage points from 69.2% in 2022 to 74.4% in 2023. Regarding the achievement of BOD target standards at 14 representative points in the mid-basin, 13 points met the BOD target, with the only exception being the Paldang Dam point, which did not meet the target.

Evaluation results by 15 mid-basins of the Han River system showed that all points within Gyeongancheon, Uiam Dam, Hongcheon River, Cheongpyeong Dam, Paldang Dam, upper Imjin River, and lower Han River were analyzed as ‘good water.’ Good water corresponds to Grade 1 and Grade 2 of the River Living Environment Standard, with a Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) of 3.0 mg/L or less, indicating water quality suitable for general water purification treatment for domestic use or swimming water.

The Institute of Health and Environment recently published a water quality evaluation report containing these findings.

Gwon Boyeon, director of the Gyeonggi-do Institute of Health and Environment, stated, “Since this water quality evaluation report reflects detailed results of water quality surveys of rivers and lakes within the province, we hope it will be usefully employed as basic data for continuous water quality improvement by local governments in the province.”

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