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Establishing a Clean and Safe water Management System in the Era of Green New Deal

Date:
2020-09-09
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2,683

▷ Reflecting the government's budget of KRW 1.716 trillion in 2021 for water management infrastructure, strengthened response to floods and droughts as well as establishing a water management system 


The Ministry of Environment (Minister Cho Myung-rae) announced that it will establish a clean and safe water management system in order to enhance the response to climate change and environment crisis.


This task was included in the Green New Deal plan announced on July 14 as one of the tasks in the field of green transformation of urban, space and living infrastructure. It was specified by formulating a 2021 budget under the Ministry of Environment.


In order to enhance responses to floods and droughts caused by climate change and deterioration of water management infrastructure as well as provide safe water management services to the public, the following services are being promoted: ① smart water management infrastructure, ② enhancing responses to climate crisis, ③ enhancing management of drinking water and ④ integrated management of water quantity and quality. The main contents are as follows.



1. Smart water management infrastructure


The Ministry of Environment will introduce a smart management system to water management infrastructure such as dams, water supply and sewage systems, which are deteriorating, to protect against floods, secure stable water resources, supply water and improve water quality.


Although deteriorating facilities are being improved, utilizing advanced ICT will increase the efficiency and effectiveness of safe water management in preparation for climate change.


A smart dam safety management project will be promoted including a safety management system using smart sensor-based real-time monitoring, unmanned aerial vehicle (drone) based safety check as well as analysis based on big data and AI (platform) to improve the performance of 37 dams, including multi-purpose dams, and to strengthen crisis response capabilities.

※ Smart dam safety management: (a revised supplementary budget in 2020) KRW 1.3 billion → (New in 2021) KRW 15 billion


In order to supply clean and safe water, a real-time monitoring and control system based on ICT and AI will be introduced in all facilities of wide-area water supplies (48 facilities) and local water supplies (161 local governments) by 2023.

※ Smart wide-area water supply: (a revised supplementary budget in 2020) KRW 15.6 billion → (2021) KRW 18.9 billion 

※ Smart local water supply: (2020) KRW 271.6 billion → (2021) KRW 426.4


A digital based smart sewer management system will also be implemented through constructing smart sewage treatment plants (13 facilities) and smart sewage pipelines (5 locations for urban flood and 5 locations for sewage odor management) by 2024. 

※ Smart sewer: (a revised supplementary budget in 2020) KRW 4 billion → (2021) KRW 20.4 billion



2. Enhancing responses to climate crisis for vulnerable areas


This enhances the ability to respond to intensifying droughts and floods caused by torrential rains and increased precipitation deviations caused by climate change.


A flood forecasting will be expanded in terms of time and space by expanding flood information collection sensors for water level and precipitation in 100 tributary rivers vulnerable to flooding and establishing a big data-based AI flood forecasting system by 2023. 

※ Building a big-date based AI flood forecasting system: (New in 2021) KRW 10.8 billion

* Forecasting centered on large rivers (65 locations in 2020) → Expanding to tributary rivers (100 locations in 2023)


In addition, in order to effectively respond to abnormal climates such as the most severe typhoon impacts of last year (7 cases) and this year's longest rainy season (54 days), a "climate crisis response flood protection planning group" will be launched to prepare fundamental flood protections. 


In areas like an island, where water supply is weak, projects such as water supply expansion and seawater desalination (Seawater Desalination Project of Daesan Coastal industrial zone) will enhance the response to drought.



3. Enhancing management of drinking water 


This task enhances the drinking water management system to provide safe water for people.


In order to prevent accidents such as the tap water larvae in the Incheon area in July last year, the sanitation management of the water purification plants will be strengthened by implementing quintuple blocks to the inflow and outflow of living organisms, targeting 100 water purification plants in 60 local governments by 2022.

※ Improving the sanitation management of the water purification plants: (New in 2021) KRW 26.2 billion


A project for improving deteriorated local water supply facilities (133 facilities) will focus on supplying cleaner tap water by decreasing the project end time from 2028 to 2024 through early government fund investment and introducing advanced water treatment facilities at 12 wide-area water purification plants. 



4. Integrated management of water quantity and quality


Depending on the local conditions, an integrated management system for water quantity and quality as well as ecological waterways from dams to rivers are implemented to supply clean water well. 


In order to enhance the integrated water management of 21 dams, the major water supply sources, a real-time integrated monitoring system for water quantity and quality will be implemented in 70 locations by 2025. 

※ Implementing an smart dam integrated monitoring system for water quantity-quality: (New in 2021) KRW 4.2 billion


In 2021, basin conditions of 21 contaminated tributaries will be diagnosed to comprehensively analyze the cause of contamination and six ecological waterways that naturally purify contaminants using the self-purification of vegetation soil will be established by 2024. 

※ Diagnosis and improvement of contaminated tributary basins: (New in 2021) KRW 12.8 billion


"To prepare for the ever-increasing climate change and environmental crisis, we will create a system that achieves a system that is safe from water disasters as well as harmonious for sustainable water supply and clean water environment", said Shin Jin-soo, Director of Water Resources Policy Bureau. "To this end, we plan to continue our utmost efforts to implement the Green New Deal in water management", he added.