Gyeonggi’s Anyang Stream and Paju’s Heyri Stream recognized for “Excellence” in ecological river restoration contest

◇ Before (left) and after images of the Suam Stream, a tributary of the Anyang Stream ⓒ Gyeonggi G-News

Gyeonggi’s Anyang Stream and Paju’s Heyri Stream were selected as excellent restoration cases by the Korean Ministry of Environment.

Gyeonggi Province announced on May 20 that these two streams received awards of excellence in two out of three categories of the ecological river restoration contest held by the Ministry of Environment, producing the best results in Korea.

The Anyang Stream was selected for the restoration performance category in the contest, while the Heyri Stream was selected for the governance category.

With the participation of 20 cities and counties from around the nation, this contest provides an opportunity to promote awareness of the importance of waterway restoration and to apply best practices.

The Anyang Stream was highly rated for securing water flow by demolishing obstacles to improve fish movement, and also for creating an eco-marsh by removing a parking lot. There had only been 9 species of fish before the restoration, but the number increased to 27 while that of birds also increased from 18 to 65.

The Heyri Stream reflected the views of nearby residents as much as possible while also effectively reporting the construction progress, hosting 5 meetings of the Ecological River Promotion Environment Committee in cooperation with the executive office of Heyri from the design process onwards.

The restoration project was recognized for its biannual post-monitoring system and joint inspection plans for the safe establishment of vegetation. During the process, residents were invited to participate in all procedures from pre-construction, mid-construction and post-construction to post management.

A KRW 5 million purse accompanied the awards of excellence in three fields, and KRW 2 million accompanied the participation award.

“Gyeonggi is conducting 37 river restoration projects in 24 cities and countries to improve the self-purification capacity of waterways and restore aquatic ecosystems,” said Bok Seung-gyu, director of the Water Quality Management Division of Gyeonggi Province’s Paldang Water Quality Improvement Headquarters. “The province will share the currently selected best practices with each city and province for reference, and enhance on-site inspections to appropriately carry out each project.”

◇ Anyang River Management Division head Moon Gyo-young (third on the left) and Paju Environmental Facility Division head Kim Yong-soo (first on the right) receive awards of excellence in the ecological river restoration contest held by the Ministry of Environment. ⓒ Gyeonggi G-News

ⓒGyeonggi G-News | Kim Jin-kyoung jinkyoung_kim@nate.com 

http://gnews.gg.go.kr/news/news_detail.asp?number=201405201130017055C048&s_code=C048