□ The Ministry of Environment said that the Tele-Monitoring System on water quality will be in full operation on April 1 in 75 large public sewage and wastewaster treatment plants nationwide.
  ○ The treatment plants include 49 public sewage treatment plants with daily capacity of 100,000 tons or more and 26 wastewater treatment plants with daily capacity of 10,000 tons or more.
  ○  Up until now, the quality of water discharged from those plants was monitored only by one-off visits of enforcement officials to the plants. But the TMS transmits real-time measurement data on line, laying the foundation for more advanced water quality management.

□ The water TMS measures both the water quality and water flow in real time. The data is used to calculate charges on water pollution over the limit, check whether the standard for the quality of discharged water is met and whether treatment plants comply with emission standards and calculate emission charge. 
  ○ The water TMS is expected to contribute to the prevention of water pollution accidents and improvement of treatment process, and be useful in implementing Total Maximum Daily Load system.

□ Starting from July 1 this year, the ministry will expand the TMS to 105 large treatment plants and about 150 medium-sized plants.

□ In addition, the ministry will link its policy and technical experience in operating the TMS with the green growth strategy of the Korean government in order to foster TMS measuring equipment industry.
  ○ For example, it will conduct technical assessment on existing TMS equipment to encourage companies to produce improved equipment and provide better services. 
  ○  And it will come up with measures to provide assistance to help companies develop more advanced measuring equipment and expand into overseas markets.