Thanks to more spring rain than usual, drought concerns eased... Dam storage rate 1.3 times the average year

[Asia Economy Reporter Joo Sang-don] Thanks to more spring rain than usual, concerns about drought have been alleviated.

On the 19th, the Ministry of Environment announced that due to about twice the usual amount of spring rain and the planned operation and management of multipurpose dams (20 sites) and water supply dams (14 sites), the nationwide dam storage levels to prepare for drought before this year's flood season (June 21 to September 20 annually) have been met.

The average precipitation in the watersheds of nationwide multipurpose dams (20 sites) from the end of last year's flood season to the end of February this year was 89.3 mm, which is 43.3% of the usual level, but the precipitation after March reached 177.3 mm, or 196.6% of the usual level. Also, the average precipitation in the watersheds of nationwide water supply dams (10 sites) from the end of last year's flood season to the end of February this year was 98.2 mm, which is 40.9% of the usual level, but the precipitation after March was 193.1 mm, or 181.7% of the usual level.

Accordingly, as of the 16th, the average storage rate of multipurpose dams (20 sites) is 55.0%, which is 129.2% of the usual storage rate (42.5%), and the average storage rate of water supply dams (10 sites) is 49.3%, which is 115.7% of the usual level (42.6%).

Kim Dong-jin, Director of Water Resources Policy Bureau at the Ministry of Environment, said, "The Korea Meteorological Administration forecasts that precipitation in May and June will be similar to the average, so unless there is a major weather anomaly, there is expected to be no difficulty in supplying water for living, industrial, agricultural use, and river maintenance before the flood season." He added, "We will strive to ensure that there is no drought damage in areas receiving water supply through multipurpose and water supply dams before this year's flood season."