Donghae City Wins Grand Prize in Public Wastewater Treatment Facility Operation Evaluation

From E Grade to A Grade: A Remarkable Leap Forward

Donghae City in Gangwon Province was selected as an excellent institution in the 2025 Public Wastewater Treatment Facility Operation and Management Evaluation Group II (1500t~10,000t) conducted by the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment, and received the grand prize at the 2025 Joint Wastewater Forum held in Jeju on December 4.

Donghae City was selected as an excellent institution in the 2025 Public Wastewater Treatment Facility Operation and Management Performance Evaluation Group II (1,500t~10,000t) conducted by the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment, and received the grand prize at the 2025 Joint Wastewater Forum held in Jeju on December 4. Provided by Donghae City

The Public Wastewater Treatment Facility Operation and Management Evaluation assesses the operational status of the previous year (2024). The first stage involves a data review by the Environmental Office and the Korea Environment Corporation, while the second stage consists of case presentations and qualitative evaluations by an evaluation committee composed of internal and external experts. The evaluation consists of five categories in total, and the best-performing local governments are ultimately selected based on the comprehensive results.

The public wastewater treatment plant in the Bukpyeong Industrial Complex in Donghae City began operations in 2001 and, as an aging facility with 24 years of service, received the lowest grade, E, in the 2023 evaluation. In response, the city conducted a technical diagnosis and promoted facility modernization to address the issues.

From 2022 to 2025, Donghae City invested approximately 3.1 billion won to improve the facility and enhance water treatment efficiency. In particular, the city replaced the existing 11kW anoxic tank agitator with a 1.5kW inverter-type agitator, significantly reducing power consumption and contributing to carbon neutrality by cutting annual greenhouse gas emissions by 209 tons (CO2 eq).

As a result, the facility, which had received an E grade in 2023, achieved a dramatic improvement to an A grade (the highest rating) in the 2025 evaluation.

Yoon Sungkyu, Director of the Environmental Division, stated, "We will continue to practice carbon neutrality through eco-friendly operations, create a safe working environment, and do our utmost in operation and management by strengthening cooperation and communication with the local community."

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