Yeongsan River site for first natural restoration after Four Major Rivers Project damage

Posted on : 2014-07-08 15:11 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST
The river is currently plagued with deteriorating water quality, ecosystem destruction, and inundation of farmland

By Ahn Gwan-ok, Gwangju correspondent in Muan

A plan for natural restoration is being introduced for the Yeongsan River after damage caused by the Four Major Rivers Project.

The city of Gwangju and province of South Jeolla announced on July 7 that they were “actively considering” the proposal for a joint natural restoration, which came from the transitional committees for their sixth elected local governments.

The first step toward the restoration project came on June 30, when the two transitional committees suggested it as a way of achieving mutual development.

“The Yeongsan River lost its natural functions as a result of the Four Major Rivers Project pushed during the Lee Myung-bak administration (2003-08), and many side effects have been discovered, including deteriorating water quality, ecosystem destruction, and inundation of farmland,” the committees explained.

Yun Gwang-su, head of the province’s green growth office, said the idea of working together to improve water quality and prevent pollution was an “obvious choice.”

“The Yeongsan River is a lifeline for residents of South Jeolla and the Gwangju region,” Yun said, adding that environment, construction, and planning departments for the city, province, and local government were holding deliberations on plans for the restoration.

The decision to attempt a restoration comes amid resident concerns about historically severe algae blooms that appeared in the summers of 2012 and 2013, with many insisting that steps needed to be taken to address them.

The transition committees picked up the deliberations after new local government heads were chosen in the June 4 municipal elections. Park Joon-young, at the time of the Democratic Party, elected as South Jeolla governor in the fifth municipal government elections, had bucked his party’s platform to support building of the Juksan and Seungchon Weirs and a drainage gate, as well as dredging of the river bottom. “I oppose the Four Major Rivers Project, but preserving the Yeongsan River is necessary,” Park insisted at the time. His attitude ended up triggering a major backlash.

As a next step, the city and province plan to put together an investigative committee to look at the river and develop ideas for restoring its functions and environmental role by identifying the cause of the algae blooms and the effects of water quality deterioration and ecosystem destruction. Once the findings are released, the plan is to develop medium and long-term policies for restoring the river and demanding suitable measures from the central government.

The city and province are viewing the restoration as a long-term project. In particular, they are referring to the restoration of a similarly afflicted stretch of the Rhine River in Germany, which took ten to fifteen years, and opting for caution out of concerns that a rushed job could lead to greater devastation to the ecosystem.

“The first thing they need to do is hurry up and conduct a field study,” said Song In-sung, 66, an emeritus professor at Chonnam National University.

“The results and lessons they get from natural restoration of the Yeongsan River should then be applied to other rivers,” Song advised.

 

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