The Ministry of Environment (Minister Han Wha-jin) has newly designated 21 chronic flood-prone areas as "sewerage maintenancepriority management areas" for the prevention of urban flood damage and will announce them on October 31.

The 21 "sewerage maintenance priority management areas" include areas where there is a concern of flooding due to insufficient sewage capacity or the inability of rainwater to drain away due to factors such as rising river levels, including parts of Okryong-dong in Gongju, where flood damage occurred during heavy rains in July this year.

The Ministry plans to invest approximately KRW 487 billion* in these "sewerage maintenance priority management areas" by 2029 to improve 77 kilometers of sewage pipelines, construct and expand 22 pumping stations, and install rainwater catchment facilities, among other measures, in order to fundamentally address the causes of flooding.

* The total project cost and project quantities may vary depending on the specific design results

Meanwhile, the Ministry has been designating a total of 173 "sewerage maintenance priority management areas" from 2013 to 2022 and has been carrying out flood response projects such as expanding sewage pipe capacity, installing pumping stations, and sewage detention facilities. As of the first half of 2023, in 51 completed areas including Geumjeong-gu in Busan, there have been no recurrent flood damages.

In addition, the Ministry has allocated a budget of approximately KRW 325.6 billion for sewage pipe maintenance for urban flood prevention in the next year, which is about double the amount compared to this year.

Kim Jong-ryul, Director-General of Water Environment Policy Bureau of the Ministry of Environment, stated, "Frequent concentrated heavy rainfall events due to climate change and an increase in impermeable surfaces due to urbanization have increased the risk of urban flooding." He added, "Given the importance of sewage systems in flood prevention, we will continue to expand the designation of sewerage maintenance priority management areas and actively support local governments in swiftly implementing urban flood prevention projects in these areas."

Contact: Kim Hyeon-gyu, Assistant Director

Sewerage Division / +82-(0)44-201-7039