Ulsan City to Hold Exploration Event at the Secret Garden 'Hoeya Dam Ecological Wetland'

First-come, first-served starting on the 24th... Operates for one month from July 18

Lotus Viewing and Water Purification Experience with Ecological Guide's Explanation

This year as well, the secret garden of the Hoeya Dam Ecological Wetland will be open to the public for one month.

The Hoeya Water Purification Plant of the Ulsan Waterworks Headquarters announced on the 19th that it will hold the "Hoeya Dam Upper Stream Ecological Wetland Exploration" event from July 18 to August 18, coinciding with the lotus blooming season.

Hoeyadam Ecological Wetland.

The exploration event will involve a 3-hour walk along a 3km round-trip course from Daebokdongcheon-ro in Ungchon-myeon, Ulju-gun to the ecological wetland.

With explanations from an ecological commentator, visitors can see the unique natural environment of the dense forest untouched by humans, the transformed appearance of the old Tongcheon Village, and the ecological wetland created for water purification.

At the scenic observatory within the Hoeya Dam Ecological Wetland, visitors can see the lotus flowers up close and experience the principles of water purification using aquatic plants.

To protect water quality within the water source protection zone, the number of participants is limited to 140 people per day, and the tour hours are restricted from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

In particular, for safety reasons, the event is open to students in grade 4 and above as well as the general public, and citizens from other cities may also participate.

Applications for the exploration can be made on a first-come, first-served basis from June 24 to July 15 through the Ecological Wetland Exploration section on the Ulsan Waterworks Headquarters website, and participation is free of charge.

An official from the Hoeya Water Purification Plant said, "Although Hoeya Dam is primarily a water source protection area, we are temporarily opening the ecological wetland to widely promote trust in Ulsan tap water and Ulsan as an ecological and environmental city. We ask for your understanding regarding the unavoidable restrictions on the number of visitors and operation period to remain faithful to the original purpose of water source protection."

The Hoeya Dam Ecological Wetland is a spectacular sight with about 50,000 square meters of lotus flowers and 123,000 square meters of bulrushes and reeds.

According to surveys conducted over the past five years (2017-2021), the Hoeya Dam Ecological Wetland has shown water purification effects by removing an average of 58.9% of biological oxygen demand (BOD), 42.8% of total nitrogen (T-N), and 36.1% of total phosphorus (T-P) through the purification functions of aquatic plants, a nature-friendly method.

In 2012, it was the first in the country to open a water source protection zone to the public, and except for 2020 and 2021 when the exploration event was canceled due to COVID-19, a total of 36,521 people have visited over the past 10 years.