Gyeonggi Province will start an ecological river restoration project this year targeting three rivers: Inchangcheon in Guri, Okgucheon and Gunjacheon in Siheung, and Seungducheon in Anseong.
The ecological river restoration project involves demolishing concrete artificial structures such as retaining walls and weirs, and creating wetlands for water purification and improvement to restore the damaged river ecological environment.
In the case of Inchangcheon in Guri, the concrete structure covering a 490m covered section will be removed, and an ecological waterway and wetlands will be created.
For Okgucheon and Gunjacheon in Siheung and Seungducheon in Anseong, ecological riffles, habitats for organisms, and facilities to reduce non-point pollution sources (pollutants carried by rainwater on surfaces causing river pollution) will be installed.
Gyeonggi Province expects visible results such as water quality improvement and ecosystem recovery once the restoration projects are completed for the respective rivers.
In fact, monitoring conducted by Gyeonggi Province on the species of organisms and water quality changes in 16 rivers where restoration projects were completed from 2018 to 2022 showed that the average biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) improved by about 34%, from 4.16 mg/L (moderate) before completion to 2.76 mg/L (slightly good) after completion.
Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) is one of the indicators representing river environmental standards, where a lower value means better water quality. Water with BOD above 4 ppm is considered moderate, supporting species such as carp, crucian carp, and loach, while BOD below 3 ppm supports species like sculpin and minnow and is relatively clean with almost no odor.
Kim Tae-su, Director of Water Quality Total Quantity Division at Gyeonggi Province Water Resources Headquarters, said, "The ecological river restoration project aims to enhance the river's self-purification function to create a healthy river environment and restore it as a space where residents and nature can coexist." He added, "We will proceed without delay in selecting project sites for next year to contribute to the restoration of river ecosystems and water quality improvement in the province."
Meanwhile, Gyeonggi Province will complete demand surveys from cities and counties this month and select new project sites for next year after on-site investigations.
Currently, Gyeonggi Province is promoting ecological river restoration projects in 12 locations across 10 areas including Namyangju and Yongin (5 under construction, 4 in design, 3 new). The total project length is 44.635 km, with a total budget of 26.4 billion KRW, including 16.8 billion KRW from the provincial government.
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