Yeongsan River - Connecting Healthy Waterway in Honam Plain

To save ecology and to make waterway straight

The Yeongsan River, 136km long, is one of the four mainrivers in Korea, moves along the Honam plain and ends in theWest Sea. When compared to the Han River, the Nakdongand the Geum River, it is shorter, but twenty years ago, its transportation was comparable to the three, because the seawater penetrated deeply into the river. Record shows that thesea water came as inland as 73km from Mokpo.

Because of this reason, the Yeongsan River has suffered frequent overflow and inundation of farms. In December 1981, dam was built and damage was reduced. However, because the flow speed was reduced and industrial waste from the upper region had accumulated and caused serious water pollution and destruction of ecology. The Yeongsan River restoration project focuses on improvement of water quality and control of flood. And to secure water resource, two reservoirs will be built, first of which is fixing weir to maintain water level and the latter of which is to control water level during heavy rain. Also, the watercourse which has been elevated due to accumulation of wastes will be cleaned to prepare for flood, and in Naju area, weir will be crated tocontrol water level and prevent inundation during flood. And 37km of old banks are renovated, and sluice gate will beadded. After completion, it is expected to improve flood andwater pollution.