The downstream area experienced sharply reduced inundation damage with shortened waterlogging period thanks to dredging work.
In Buyeo County of Chungnam Province had amazing cloudbursts in maximum 566 mm (average 488.9 mm) of rainfall from July 7 to 13 by localized torrential downpours. Particularly, in a just one day of July 10, 327 mm of rain was recorded in Sedo-myeon. It was the highest record since 1987 big flood. This summer’s rain here consigned 50 public facilities, farmland 897 ha, and 1158 green houses to waterlogging damage. However, it is considerably slight comparing to previous years’ ones. Greenhouse cultivation complex had already undergone a transmorphosis into ecological area and massive dredging work raised the drainage ability of the cultivation field against heavy rain. Those factors are considered to contribute the reduced inundation damage.
Jeungsan District of Buyeo showed zero inundation damage due to farmland remodeling work mounding up the farmland 60cm using dredged soil. When it comes to the end of this year that farmland remodeling work is completed, frequent inundation prone areas of 140 districts with 7709 hectare will not need to be worry about being flooded any longer. This year’s water level of the Gongju Weir marked at 11.91m; it is a slight rise than last year’s 10.71m. As the volume of the river becomes bigger, some inundation-prone areas like Geumgang Esplanade Park, Lotus Field of the Jeongan Stream, and farmland of Sangseo-ri were all safe in this rainy season without damage. The Geumgang Esplanade Park has been inundated almost every year by countercurrent of river. It was soaked for a while last year with only 300mm rainfall, but it overcame this year’s heavy rain of 566mm with only one third waterlogged. In case of Seocheon County which has the Zone 1 among Geum River’s 9 districts of the Project, there was no damage out of this summer’s heavy rainfall. Because, there is no embankment work and all the improvement works are being progressed inside the dry riverbed.
