• Journal of Korea Spatial Information System Society
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.77-88
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• 2008

There has been growing demands to manage the water quality of west coastal region due to the large scale urbanization along the coastal zone, the possibility of application of TMDL(Total Maximum Daily Loadings) to Han river, and the natural disaster such as oil spill incident in Taean, Chungnam. However, no system has been developed for such purposes. In this background, the demand of GIS based effective water quality management has been increased to monitor water quality environment and propose best management alternatives for Han river and Kyeonggi bay. This study mainly focused on the development of integrated water quality management system for Han river bas in and its estuary are a connected to Kyeonggi bay to support integrated water quality management and its plan. Integration was made based on GIS by spatial linking between water quality attributes and location information. A GIS DB was built to estimate the amount of generated and discharged water pollutants according to TMDL technical guide and it included input data to use two different water quality models--W ASP7 for Han river and EFDC for coastal area--to forecast water quality and to suggest BMP(Best management Practices). The results of BOD, TN, and TP from WASP7 were used as the input to run EFDC. Based on the study results, some critical areas which have relatively higher pollutant loadings were identified, and it was also identified that the locations discharging water pollutant loadings to river and seasonal factor affected water quality. And the relationship of water quality between river and its estuary area was quantitatively verified. The results showed that GIS based integrated system could be used as a tool for estimating status-quo of water quality and proposing economically effective BMPs to mitigate water pollution. Further studies need to be made for improving system's capabilities such as adding decision making function as well as cost-benefit analysis, etc. Also, the concrete methodology for water quality management using the system need to be developed.

• Journal of Environmental Policy
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.89-120
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• 2008

With petroleum being a major source of energy in Korea, the quantity of petroleum transported via ocean routes is on its way up due to increased consumption. Due to the increase, more than 300 cases of pollution caused by petroleum occur annually. Moreover, the number of oil-spill accidents is also on the rise. Causes of such accidents, not including the disposal of waste oil on purpose, turn out to be human error during navigation or defects in the vessels, showing that most accidents are caused by humans. Therefore, to prevent future oil spills, it is imperative that navigation efficiency be enhanced by improving the quality of navigators and replacing old vessels with newer ones. Nevertheless, such improvements cannot occur overnight, so long- and mid-term efforts should be made to achieve it institutionally. As large-scale oil-spill accidents can happen at anytime along the coastal waters of Korea, it is necessary to set-up institutional devices which go beyond the compensation limit of 92FC. The current special law regarding this issue has its limits in that it prescribes compensation be supplemented solely by national taxes. Therefore, the setting-up of a new 'national fund' is recommended for consideration rather than to subscribe to the '2003 Convention for the Supplementary Fund'. It is strongly suggested that a National fund be created from fees collected from oil companies based on the risks involved in oil transportation and according to the profiteers pay principle. In addition, a public fund should be created to handle general environmental damage, such as the large-scale destruction of the ecosystem, which is distinct from the economic damage that harms the local people. The posterior responses to the large-scale oil spill have always been unsatisfactory because of the symbolic nature of the disasters included in such accidents. Oil-spills can be prevented in advance, because they are caused by human beings. But once they occur, they inflict long-term damage to both human life and the natural ecosystem. Therefore, the best response to future oil-spills is to work to prevent them.