Uiryeong-gun and Busan City Sign Agreement for Clear Water Supply System Project in Nakdong River Basin

“Resident Consent and Farm Damage Countermeasures First” … Coexistence for Clear Water Supply

Uiryeong-gun, Gyeongnam Province, announced on the 16th that it plans to proceed with a project related to the Nakdong River water intake source diversification project promoted by the Ministry of Environment.

The county stated that the prerequisite for maintaining the validity of the agreement signed with Busan City is ‘resident consent,’ and the most important part of the agreement is ‘prevention and compensation for agricultural damage,’ which will be prioritized.

Uiryeong County and Busan City have signed a win-win cooperation agreement to collaborate on the Nakdong River Basin Clean Water Supply System project led by the Ministry of Environment, prioritizing support for residents in the affected areas and prevention of agricultural damage.
[Image provided by Uiryeong County]

Earlier, on the 12th, the county signed a win-win cooperation agreement with Busan City at the county office to mutually cooperate on the Ministry of Environment’s ‘Nakdong River Basin Clean Water Supply System Establishment Project,’ prioritizing support for residents in the affected areas and prevention of agricultural damage.

The Ministry of Environment’s ‘Nakdong River Basin Safe Drinking Water Supply System Establishment Project’ involves drawing 900,000 tons of water daily from the riverbank filtered water in Uiryeong-gun and Changnyeong-gun within the Nakdong River basin, and the recirculated water of Hwanggang in Hapcheon, supplying 420,000 tons to Busan and 480,000 tons to eastern Gyeongnam, respectively.

Before signing this agreement, the county held resident briefings for the water intake area residents and gathered opinions on compensation for crop damage caused by hydroponic cultivation facilities from local residents.

A county official said, “The resident briefings will not be a one-time event but will continue as opportunities to listen to residents’ opinions even after this agreement.”

Meanwhile, through this agreement, the county achieved financial support from Busan City. Busan plans to purchase agricultural products from the water intake area farmers annually worth about 20 billion KRW, and additional support measures to help farmers in the water intake area establish stable sales channels are expected to be announced soon.

Also, at the agreement ceremony on the 12th, private sector cooperation with the county was strengthened as Yang Jae-saeng, chairman of the Busan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the president of the Jaebu Gyeongnam Hometown Association, the senior vice president of the Jaebu Uiryeong Hometown Association, and the head of the Busan branch of the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation attended and donated 21 million KRW as hometown love donations.

County Governor Oh Tae-wan said, “The common promise between Uiryeong-gun and Busan City is to proceed with the project only after obtaining resident consent and first establishing measures to prevent damage to farms,” adding, “We will ensure that no shortcomings or biases occur in the future project implementation so that farmers do not bear any damage.”