Yeongdeok County Makes All-Out Efforts to Block Burned Debris from Entering Rivers

Barriers Installed in Rivers
to Prevent Secondary Wildfire Damage

Yeongdeok County in North Gyeongsang Province has installed barriers to prevent the inflow of burn residues from recent wildfires into rivers and the sea, which could contaminate water quality or cause secondary damage to offshore aquaculture farms.

Yeongdeok County Makes Every Effort to Block Forest Fire Residue from Entering Rivers. Photo by Yeongdeok County

If burn residues flow into rivers and the sea, they can deteriorate water quality and, when deposited, may negatively impact aquatic ecosystems. Therefore, it is necessary to prevent this in advance.

In response, Yeongdeok County has begun installing barriers to block the inflow of wildfire residues at two upstream points in the water source protection zones of Osipcheon and Chuksancheon, as well as in six small rivers: Haetbulcheon, Seokdongcheon, Motgolcheon, Obocheon, Daetancheon, and Deokgokcheon.

Additionally, Korea Environment Corporation is actively supporting Yeongdeok County, which has been declared a special disaster area, by deploying equipment and personnel to conduct on-site investigations and install barriers.

County Governor Kim Kwangyeol said, "By installing barriers such as oil fences and turbidity prevention curtains, we will prevent water pollution and do our best to continuously manage the situation by collecting and disposing of residues caught by the barriers to preemptively block secondary damage."