(LEAD) S. Korea to spend 22.2 tln won on river restoration work

(ATTN: RECASTS title, lead; UPDATES with more details from para 2)
By Lee Joon-seung
SEOUL, June 8 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will spend a total of 22.2 trillion won
(US$17.8 billion) in the coming years to enhance the water quality and supply
systems of its four major rivers, the government said Monday.

The masterplan for the "Four-river Restoration Project" to be completed by 2012
calls for 16.9 trillion won to be used for the main work on the Han, Nakdong,
Geum and Yeongsan rivers, with an additional 5.3 trillion won to be allocated to
improve water flow and sewerage conditions on smaller-sized waterways.
The Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs in charge of the
construction, said the work calls for large-scale dredging operations of river
bottoms, building of small dams, catch basins and reservoirs that can store up to
1.3 billion cubic meters of fresh water and greatly raise water quality.
It said development work aims to prevent floods, cope with water shortages and
create jobs through construction work and better use of resources.
Of the nearly 17 trillion won to be spent, the Nakdong project will get 9.8
trillion won, followed by 2.6 trillion won and 2.5 trillion won in support for
the Yeongsan and Geum rivers, respectively. The Han river, which flows through
the capital city, will get 2 trillion won.
The ministry said the country spends on average 8 trillion won every year to deal
with floods, while estimates claim that the country will suffer a water shortage
of 1 billion cubic meters by 2016 due to climate change. Water shortages can also
lead to sharp deterioration of water quality, having serious repercussion for the
four rivers that flow through the country's major cities, industrial centers and
key farmlands.
The plan is a finalized version of "green new deal" policy initiative outlined by
the government's regional development committee in December 2008 and part of the
eco-friendly economic growth program pursued by the Lee Myung-bak administration.
Under the plan, 16 new catch basins that can hold an additional 800 million cubic
meters of water will be built, with close to 100 reservoirs being refurbished to
provide 250 million cubic meters of water for farmlands.
The project will call for two medium sized dams to be built with two existing
dams to be connected to better regulate water on the Nakdong River. The river
flows through the country's southeastern region and frequently suffers from
spring droughts.
River banks are to be strengthened, with flood gates to be built on the estuary
of the Nakdong and Yeongsan rivers to help prevent floods. The government will
build 750 sewerage processing plants and 46 new water treatment facilities to
deal with water used in industrial and agricultural complexes.
The water quality of the four rivers will be raised to relatively clean "Grade
II" levels that have a biological oxygen demand of less than 3 parts per million
(ppm). Such water is capable of sustaining most aquatic life and can be used for
recreational purposes.
As of 2008, roughly 76 percent of the four rivers have Grade II levels, a figure
that will be raised to 83-86 percent by 2012.
State funds will also be used to create "model villages" to attract tourists that
will opt for eco-friendly methods to grow farm products with 1,728 kilometers of
bicycle roads to be built along the rivers.
The ministry said initial work will begin in October, with most of the
construction to be completed by 2011, although building of dams and reservoirs
will take one more year.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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