Six of 16 dams to open gates from Thursday
Six out of 16 dams built for the Four Major Rivers Project will have their gates opened Thursday, officials said Monday, a follow-up to President Moon Jae-in’s order last week to overhaul the project.
At a press conference, an infrastructure ministry spokesman said the dams will be partially opened at 2 p.m. on Thursday.
“The gates will be open to the point where it won’t affect farms nearby that are in need of a large quantity of water in May and June,” an official said.
The six are Gangjeong-Goryeong, Dalseong, Hapcheon-Changnyeong and Changnyeong-Haman dams on the Nakdong River, Gongju dam on the Geum River and Joonsan dam on the Youngsan River.
The six were chosen based on water volumes and the extent of algal blooming. As a result, the Gangjeong-Goryeong dam will see its water level drop by 1.25 meters, while waters in the Changnyeong-Haman dam will fall 20 centimeters.
Environmentalists denounced Monday’s announcement.
“The dams will be open too little. It’s like not opening them at all,” said Shin Jae-eun from the Korea Federation for Environmental Movements, an NGO. “The government needs to open the gates fully and others soon.”
Asked when it will open other dams’ gates, the official answered: “It can damage the ecosystem of the river if all weirs are opened simultaneously. We need to move cautiously and patiently.” The Ministry of Environment will monitor condi- tions in preparation for this.
The Four Major Rivers Project is Korea’s biggest and most controversial river refurbishment program. Between 2007 and 2012, the government spent 22.2 trillion won ($17.3 billion) of taxpayers’ money, building 16 dams on the country’s four major rivers.
Former President Lee Myung-bak who spearheaded the project claimed it would prevent flooding and droughts and boost tourism.
Environmentalists opposed the plan from the beginning, warning of threats to the rivers’ ecosystems — and it turned out to be true with algae blooming near the dams. The situation was particularly worrying for the Nakdong River which supplies 13 million people, including Busan and Daegu residents, with drinking water.
Shin criticized the government’s mention of farms as a reason for not opening the gates fully.
“In the regions around the Nakdong River, no drought has been reported this year. It makes no sense that the gates will be open only a little because of farmers. We believe the government lied to citizens and President Moon with its deceptive announcement today.”
Monday’s announcement came amid friction between President Moon and former President Lee after Moon ordered another round of audits for the Four Major Rivers Project — it has been scrutinized three times over the past five years.
Cheong Wa Dae said the purpose of the fourth audit would be to get to the bottom of the problem and learn from mistakes. But conservative politicians and former President Lee took offense, saying the audit was meant to discredit them.