Paju-si Improves Operation Method of River Dredging Management Project

Mayor Kim Gyeong-il: "We will do our best to minimize environmental issues and citizen inconvenience... to prevent disasters"
Advancing dredging work by about 2 months

Paju City, Gyeonggi Province (Mayor Kim Kyung-il) announced on the 10th that it plans to improve the operation method of dredging work to advance the timing of river dredging construction.

Paju City Improves Operation Method of River Maintenance Dredging Project. Provided by Paju City

The river dredging project is a project that removes sediment deposited in the river to secure the flow cross-section, thereby protecting embankments and river facilities. It is important to dredge in a timely manner because dredged soil accumulating in the river during typhoons and heavy rains can cause problems.

However, since rivers are mainly located in farmland or mountainous areas, dredging construction from March to May, when the project is usually carried out, has been delayed due to farming activities, and concerns about damage to the river ecosystem and environment have been continuously raised.

Accordingly, Paju City decided to improve the operation method of dredging construction to minimize problems caused by river dredging work and maximize the dredging effect starting next year.

Breaking away from the existing method of allocating budgets to each eup and myeon in January and February, designing in February and March, and carrying out dredging construction from March to May, the plan is to start reviewing the design of the project site from December of the previous year. In particular, the method of integrated preliminary review and design by the River Management Division, instead of each eup, myeon, and dong designing after budget allocation, will be changed to drastically shorten the design period and advance the dredging construction by about two months.

As a result, if the dredging construction period is advanced to February to March, it is expected to prevent construction delays caused by farming activities and facilitate securing soil disposal sites. In addition, since the project will be carried out before March to May, when wild animals and plants begin their breeding activities in earnest, it is expected to minimize the impact on the ecosystem and environment.

Furthermore, it is anticipated that the administrative burden caused by dredging construction design on busy eups and myeons, which are occupied with small-scale local project designs, will be reduced, and early budget execution will also be effective.

Mayor Kim Kyung-il of Paju City said, “River dredging is a necessary project to prevent disasters caused by concentrated heavy rains in summer,” and added, “We will do our best to minimize environmental problems and inconveniences to citizens that may arise from construction by adjusting the dredging timing according to the improved plan and to prevent disasters.”