• Title/Summary/Keyword: Watershed sewer system

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Temporal and Spatial Evaluation of Water Pollution Characteristics in Gohyeon Stream and Its Tributaries (고현천 및 유입지류의 수질오염 특성의 시·공간적 평가)

  • Kim, Sung-Jae
    • Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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    • v.31 no.3
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    • pp.235-247
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    • 2012
  • BACKGROUND: Gohyeon Stream is the municipal eco-stream of 7.1km in total length which flows through the downtown area of Gohyeon in Geoje city, rising from the watershed of Mundong Water Fall. Gohyeon district in Geoje city has been a rapid growing area centering in Geoje city and then experienced an rapid increase in population. Large amounts of sewage pollutants have been spewed into Gohyeon Stream from its tributaries, due to the lack of sewer system. Gohyeon Stream is laced with unhealthy levels of fecal coliform (FC). Restoration of water quality in Gohyeon Stream is no less inevitable in behalf of its ecosystem and the citizen. In this study, the water quality of Gohyeon Stream and its tributaries was examined temporally and spatially, and their relationships were comparatively analyzed to give useful basic data applying to a restoration project of the water quality of Gohyeon Stream. METHODS AND RESULTS: The samples ware taken at 20 points in Gohyeon Stream and 19 points in its tributaries during the rainy and dry seasons, respectively, and examined on the parameters of pH, temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen (DO), suspended solid (SS), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN; $NH_3$-N, $NO_3$-N, $NO_2$-N), disolved inorganic phosphorus (DIP; $PO_4$-P) and FC. The data were analyzed using a comparative analysis and Pearson's correlation analysis among the parameters. During the rainy season, the concentration of SS was high in the upper region of Gohyeon Stream, and the concentrations of COD, DIN and DIP were low in the upper region and high in the middle and lower regions. During the dry season, the concentration of SS was low and the concentrations of COD, DIN, DIP and FC were high in all regions. The Pearson's correlation analyses showed that the relationships between DO and FC, COD and DIP, and DIN and FC during the rainy season as well as between DO and DIN, SS and FC, COD and DIP, and DIN and DIP during the dry season were significant. CONCLUSION: During the rainy season, the upper region of Gohyeon Stream flowed the high level of SS, the middle region the high level of nutrients due to an agricultural run-off, and the lower region the high level of nutrients due to a sewage inflow. During the dry season, the water quality of Gohyeon Stream was directly and sensitively influenced on the inflow of sewage from the tributaries.

Problems of lake water management in Korea (한국의 호수 수질관리의 문제점)

  • 김범철;전만식;김윤희
    • Proceedings of the Korean Society of Environment and Ecology Conference
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    • 2003.10a
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    • pp.105-126
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    • 2003
  • In Korea most of annual rainfall is concentrated in several episodic heavy rains during the season of summer monsoon and typhoon. Because of uneven rainfall distribution many dams have been constructed in order to secure water supply in dry seasons. The Han River system has the most dams among Korean rivers, and the river is a series of dams now. Reservoirs need different strategy of water quality control from river water. Autochthonous organic matter and phosphorus should be the major target to be controlled in lakes. In this Paper some problems are discussed that makes efforts of water quality improvement ineffective in lakes of Korea, even after the substantial investment to wastewater treatment facilities.1) Phosphorus is the key factor controlling eutrophication of lakes and the reduction ofphosphors should be the major target of water treatment. However, water quality management strategy in Korea is still stream-oriented, and focused on BOD removal from sewage. Phosphorus removal efficiency remains as low as 10-30%, because biological treatment is adopted for both secondary treatment and advanced treatment. The standard for TP concentration of the sewage treatment plant effluent is 6 mgP/l in most of regions, and 2 mg/l in enforced region near metropolitan water intake point. TP in the effluents of sewage treatment plants are usually 1-2 mg/1, and most of plants meet the effluent regulation without a further phosphorus removal process. The generous TP standard for effluents discourages further efforts to improve phosphorus removal efficiency of sewage treatment. Considering that TP standard for the effluent is below 0.1 mg/l in some countries, it should be amended to below 0.1 mg/l in Korea, especially in the watershed of large lakes.2) Urban runoff and combined sewer overflow are not treated, even though their total loading into lakes can be comparable to municipal sewage discharges on dry days. Chemical coagulation and rapid settling might be the solution to urban runoff in regard of intermittent operation on only rainy days.3) Aggregated precipitation in Korea that is concentrated on several episodic heavyrains per year causes a large amount of nonpoint source pollution loading into lakes. It makes the treatment of nonpoint source discharge by methods of other countries of even rain pattern, such as retention pond or artificial wetland, impractical in Korea.4) The application rate of fertilizers in Korea is ten times as high as the average ofOECD countries. The total manure discharge from animal farming is thought to be over the capacity of soil treatment in Korea. Even though large portion of manure is composted for organic fertilizer, a lot of nutrients and organic matter emanates from organic compost. The reduction of application rate and discharge rate of phosphorus from agricultural fields should be encouraged by incentives and regulations.5) There is a lot of vegetable fields with high slopes in the upstream region of the HanRiver. Soil erosion is severe due to high slopes, and fertilizer is discharged in the form of adsorbed phosphorus on clay surface. The reduction of soil erosion in the upland area should be the major preventive policy for eutrophication. Uplands of high slope must be recovered to forest, and eroded gullies should be reformed into grass-buffered natural streams which are wider and resistant to bank erosion.

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