• Journal of Ecology and Environment
• /
• v.39 no.1
• /
• pp.99-110
• /
• 2016

The objective of this study was to analyze chemical water quality, ecological characteristics of fish compositions, and ecosystem health before- (B_wc; 2008-2009) and after-the weir construction (A_wc; 2011-2012) at Juksan Weir and Seungchon Weir of Yeongsan River watershed. Suspended solids (SS) and chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) in Juksan Weir increased, whereas nutrients such as total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) decreased in the epilimnetic water. In Juksan and Seungchon weirs, fish species distribution analysis in the periods of B_wc and A_wc showed that sensitive species were rare and tolerant species were dominant in the community. In the analysis of trophic guild, relative abundance of carnivore species are increased to 22% and 12%, respectively, after the constructions of Seungchon Weir and Juksan Weir. Mann-Whitney U-tests of nonparametric statistical analysis indicated that omnivore and carnivore species had significant differences (p < 0.05) between the B_wc and A_wc. The massive population growth of an exotic species, Micropterus salmoides, was evident in Seungchon Weir to influence on the structures of fish communities. The model values of mean Index of Biological Integrity (IBI), based on fish assemblages, were < 15, which indicates "poor" condition in the river health, and the significant difference of IBI values was not found between the B_wc and A_wc.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
• /
• v.53 no.5
• /
• pp.369-381
• /
• 2020

In this paper, observed water quality, algal blooms and flow rates in the Yeongsan River and its boundaries including 8 tributaries and 2 wastewater treatment plants for two years of 2018-2019 were analyzed. It seems effects of non-point source load inputs from basin areas to the river may be significant though the field data availability was limited. The EFDC model was calibrated against data collected from 6 water level monitoring stations and 6 water quality monitoring stations, respectively, in the study area. Water quality improvement scenarios were developed assuming 50% and 75% reductions of major pollution sources including treatment plants and tributaries. The developed scenarios were applied to the EFDC model to estimate effects on algal bloom occurrences in the Seungchon weir and Juksan weir. Improvement of the effluent of Gwangju 1 WWTP by 75% did not show any effect on algal blooms for two weir locations. The major tributary affecting algal blooms in the Seungchon weir was the Hwangryong River. The Jisuk stream was found as the most important tributary for the Juksan weir followed by the effect of the Hwangryong River. Though it seems other scattered small nonpoint source load input to the Yeongsan river also seem to be important, it was not possible to reflect their effects appropriately due to field data availability.

• Journal of The Geomorphological Association of Korea
• /
• v.26 no.4
• /
• pp.1-20
• /
• 2019

In order to establish appropriate policy to control sediment-associated problems, it is necessary to identify the physical characteristics of the reservoir sediments in particulate form in the Yeongsan River. Two time-integrated suspended sediment samplers were installed at Seungchon and Juksan weir on the upper and middle Yeongsan River in July 2012. Reservoir sediment samples were obtained at monthly intervals until October 2014. During the monitoring period, a total of 38 sediment samples were obtained and analyzed. Seasonal trends of suspended sedimentation rates and grain size distributions were examined based on variations in precipitation and discharge fluctuations. Moreover, stream flow characteristics, which has a great influence on the physical characteristics of the river sediment, was analyzed using flow duration curve for the period 2003-2019 at Naju gauging station. Sedimentation rates during summer, when heavy rainfall was concentrated due to the monsoonal front and typhoon, were very high, indicating the positive relationship between sediment concentration and discharge. Particle size analysis of the collected sediment showed that coarse silt and very fine sand-sized sediment dominated most of the Seungchon weir sediment. On the other hand, medium silt-sized sediment dominated the downstream Juksan weir except for a few summer samples. These results implied that the physical characteristics of the suspended sediment are determined not only due to flow fluctuations, but also with regard to the antecedent rainfall conditions, hillslope-channel connectivity, and the supply of materials from various contributing regions. This information about flow characteristics and temporal variations in reservoir sediment can be used for safe management of the weir and discussing the issues on the dismantling of the weirs.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
• /
• v.38 no.1
• /
• pp.1-9
• /
• 2022

The Yeongsan River, one of the four major rivers in Korea, shows the highest degree of water pollution compared to the other major rivers. The construction and opening of two weirs, Seungchon and Juksan, induced fluctuations in the hydrologic conditions and water quality of the river. To investigate the water quality changes caused by the opening of the weir in 2017, this study analyzed the water quality data using the non-parametric Wilcoxon signed-rank test and the three-dimensional spatiotemporal plots. The non-parametric statistical test results showed that the concentration of all parameters has increased after 2017 at a significance level of 0.05. For the parameters that showed the highest degree of change, chlorophyll-a and suspended solids, the median values have increased by more than 30% after weir opening. Visual analysis additionally showed the spatial changes in the Yeongsan River. Generally, the sites above the Seungchon weir showed higher pollution levels than those above the Juksan weir. In time series, visual analysis results also showed the trend of rising concentration for all water quality parameters, indicating that the opening of two weirs had a significant effect on the change in water quality of the Yeongsan River.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
• /
• v.29 no.2
• /
• pp.196-203
• /
• 2013

Seungchon Weir was constructed in 2010 on the downstream region of Yeongsan River watershed for four major river projects. The purpose of our study was to determine whether fish compositions and distributions differ between the upper ($U_w$) and lower regions ($L_w$) of Seungchon Weir during May - December 2011 along with hydroacoustic fish surveys using Eco-Sounder monitoring ($E_SM$) technique. Total number of fish species sampled by conventional fish sampling at all sites was 29, and 21 and 24 species occurred in the $U_w$ and $L_w$, respectively. Most dominant species was Hemiculter eigenmanni (43%) in the $U_w$ and Opsaiichthys uncirostris amurensis (21%) in the $L_w$, indicating a distinct differences of the species composition. According to hydroacoustic approach of ESM, fish density was significantly higher (p < 0.05) in the $L_w$ section of 250 m than any other sections, This outcome indicates that fishes moving toward the upstream were blocked by weir construction. According to analysis of tolerance guilds, tolerant species (TS) were made of 88% and 79% in the $U_w$ and $L_w$ region, respectively, while the proportions of sensitive species were < 0.1% of the total in the both regions. Trophic guild analysis showed that the proportion of omnivore species were 58% and 40% in the $U_w$ and $L_w$ region, respectively, while insectivores were made of 16% and 21% in the $U_w$ and $L_w$ region, respectively. Both analyses of tolerance guilds and trophic guilds indicate the biological degradation of the waterbody. Fish community structure analysis, based on species diversity, dominance, and evenness indices, showed higher community stability in the $L_w$ region than $U_w$ region. Exotic species of largemouth bass were largely increased in this survey (14%), compared to the past (< 1%), indicating a modification of fish trophic structure.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
• /
• v.34 no.4
• /
• pp.423-430
• /
• 2018

Insomuch as it is important to manage water quality, from the perspective of water management, it is essential to understand the effect of the weirs on water quality and phytoplankton dynamics in various regions. The purpose of this study is to investigate the characteristics of nitro-nutrients, as well as occurrences and succession patterns of phytoplankton, in the river sections of the two weirs in the Yeongsan River for the five years (from 2012 to 2016) after the weir construction. In respect to this data, the average water temperature measured at the representative point in the section of the Seungchon Weir ($17.1^{\circ}C$) was higher than that of the Juksan Weir ($16.6^{\circ}C$) by comparison. By way of an analysis of this data, it was found that the water quality variables such as, organic matter, nitrogen nutrients and phosphorus nutrients were improved gradually during the period, but the degree of the improvement differs as noted and measured between the weirs. Under the circumstances, it is especially noted that the $NH_3-N$ concentration was higher for the point of the Seungchon Weir (2.204 mg/L) than that of the Juksan Weir (1.157 mg/L). This indicates that effluent as seen from sewage treatment plants and hydrological feature near the densely population area, could be the main cause for the incidence of water pollution in the upstream section of the Seungchon Weir. Additionally, the phytoplankton analysis showed that a relative abundance of diatoms and green algae were 56.9 % and 25.8 % respectively. However, it is noted that the cyanobacteria was measured lower as 10.7 %. Also, in the study sites cell density and occurrence frequency of cyanobacteria were relatively lower than compared to the same measurements noted in other rivers.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
• /
• v.22 no.2
• /
• pp.215-223
• /
• 2013

The objective of this study was to evaluate fish passage efficiency, based on fish-trap monitoring methodology, in the fishway of Seungchon Weir, which was constructed on the lower region of Yeongsan River in 2011. Seasonal patterns and diel variations of fish movements, fish fauna, and compositions in the fishway were analyzed in relation to the current velocity and location of the trap-setting in the fishway. For the analysis, we conducted seven times surveys in 2012 on the fishway and also conducted intensive monitoring of the fishway as 3 hrs interval for the diel variations of fish fauna and compositions in the fishway. According to the fish-trap monitoring methodology, the total number of fish species was 13 species, which was a 43.3% of the total. Most dominant fish used the fishway was Squalidus chankaensis tsuchigae and the relative abundance of the species used the fishway was 33.5% of the total. The season and time zone (in diel variation) observed most frequently in the fishway were July and 18:00-21:00 PM, respectively. The fish movements and use-rates of fishway varied depending on the locations of trap-setting; Fish biomass and the number of species were statistically (p < 0.05) greater in the most right or left-sided traps than in the mid-traps. Also, fish movements and use-rates of fishway were influenced by current velocity on the fishway; fish in the fishway preferred the low current velocity (mean 0.71 m/sec) than the high current velocity (mean 1.13 m/sec). Further long-term studies should be monitored for the efficiency evaluations of the fishway.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
• /
• v.49 no.4
• /
• pp.320-333
• /
• 2016

This study was carried out to elucidate the development of unprecedented water-bloom caused by a single species of colonial green algae Eudorina elegans in the upstream area of the Seungchon weir located in the Yeongsan River from late April to May 2013. The Yeongsan River is typically regulated system and the waterbody is seriously enriched by both external and internal sources of nutrients. Seasonal algal outbreaks were highly probable due to various potential factors, such as the excessive nutrients contained in treated wastewater, slow current, high irradiation and temperature, in diatom (winter), green algae (spring) and bluegreen algae (summer). Spring green-tide was attributed to E. elegans with level up to $1,000mg\;m^{-3}$(>$50{\times}10^4cells\;mL^{-1}$). The bloom was exploded in the initial period of the algal development and after then gradually diminished with transporting to the downstream by the intermittent rainfall, resulting in rapid expansion of the distribution range. Although the pulsed-flows by the weir manipulation was applied to control algal bloom, they were not the countermeasures to solve the underlying problem, but rather there still was a remaining problem related to the impact of pulsed-flows on the downstream. The green-tide of E. elegans in this particular region of the Yeongsan River revealed the blooming characteristics of a colonial motile microalga, and fate of vanishing away by the succeeding episodic events of mesoscale rainfall. We believe that the results of the present study contribute to limno-ecological understanding of the green-tide caused by blue-green algae in the four major rivers, Korea.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
• /
• v.37 no.10
• /
• pp.563-572
• /
• 2015

The purpose of this study was to model the effect of flushing discharge on algae removal by multi-purpose weir operation in Yeongsan River (Seungchon Weir) using a 3-dimensional (3D) model. The chlorophyceae Eudorina sp. formed bloom in May 2013. Flushing discharge was conducted in two different ways for algal bloom reduction. To elucidate the spatial variability, a high-resolution 3D model, ELCOM-CAEDYM, was used to simulate the spatial variations of water quality and chl-a over a month. The results showed that ELCOM-CAEDYM could reproduce highly spatially resolved field data at low cost, and showed very good performance in simulating the pattern of algal bloom occurrence. The effect of each flushing discharge operation was analyzed with the results of modeling. The results of case 1, flushing discharge using an open movable weir, showed that the algal bloom between the Seochang Bridge and the Hwangryong River junction is rapidly flushed after operating the movable weir, but the residual algae remained in the weir pool as the discharge decreased. However, the results of case 2, fixed weir overflow with a small hydropower stop, showed that most of the algae was removed after flushing discharge and the effect of algae removal was much bigger than that in case 1, as per modeling results and observed data.

• Journal of The Geomorphological Association of Korea
• /
• v.27 no.1
• /
• pp.1-19
• /
• 2020

A river bed which is submerged in water at high flow and becomes part of the river at low flow, serves as a bridge between the river and the land. The channel bar creates a unique ecosystem with vegetation adapted to the particular environment and the water pool forms a wetland that plays a very important role in the environment. To evaluate anthropogenic impacts on the river bed in the Middle Yeongsangang River, the fluvial landforms in the stream channel were analyzed using multi-temporal remotely-sensed images. In the aerial photograph of 2005 taken before the construction of the large weirs, oxbow lakes, mid-channel bars, point bars, and natural wetlands between the artificial levees were identified. Multiple bars divided the flow of stream water to cause the braided pattern in a particular section. After the construction of the Seungchon weir, aerial photographs of 2013 and 2015 revealed that most of the fluvial landforms disappeared due to the dredging of its riverbed and water level control(maintenance at 7.5El.m). Sentinel-2 images were analyzed to identify differences between before and after the opening of weir gate. Change detection was performed with the near infrared and shortwave infrared spectral bands to effectively distinguish water surfaces from land. As a result, water surface area of the main stream of the Yeongsangang River decreased by 40% from 1.144km² to 0.692km². A large mid-channel bar that has been deposited upstream of the weir was exposed during low water levels, which shows the obvious influence of weir on the river bed. Newly formed unvegetated point bars that were deposited on the inside of a meander bend were identified from the remotely sensed images. As the maintenance period of the weir gate opening was extended, various habitats were created by creating pools and riffles around the channel bars. Considering the ecological and hydrological functions of the river bed, it is expected that the increase in bar areas through weir gate opening will reduce the artificial interference effect of the weir.