Ganghwa County Commissioner Yu Cheon-ho Inspects Comprehensive Water Management Plan for Drought-Vulnerable Areas

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Jung Jun-sung] On the 17th, Ganghwa County Commissioner Yu Cheon-ho visited Gyodong Island, a drought-vulnerable area, to directly confirm the situation on the ground and inspect the 'comprehensive water management plan'.

Recently, Ganghwa County requires more agricultural water than usual to manage crops and prevent land desiccation amid intense heat waves. In particular, the water storage rate at Goggu Reservoir and Nanjeong Reservoir on Gyodong Island stands at merely 30%, making agricultural water management an urgent matter.

Accordingly, Commissioner Yu visited the Bongso-ri water storage facility on Gyodong Island to directly confirm the status of Han River water supply, and subsequently visited Goggu Reservoir, Dongsan-ri, and Nanjeong Reservoir in succession, listening to farmers' concerns regarding agricultural water shortages.

Meanwhile, the county has invested a total project cost of 71.8 billion won to establish a Han River agricultural water supply system comprising 17 pumping stations, 72.9 km of water transmission pipelines, and 1 water storage facility, supplying 36,000 tons of agricultural water daily. Additionally, the county plans to construct an additional 5.2 km of water transmission pipelines and 1 water storage facility by December to increase the daily Han River water supply to 56,000 tons.

The county is also pursuing the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs' Rural Water Development Project (total project cost of 34 billion won), a dedicated Han River water transmission pipeline project for Ganghwa County. Upon completion of this project, continuous supply of agricultural water is expected to enable utilization not only for paddy farming but also for upland farming.

Commissioner Yu Cheon-ho stated, "I will make every effort to improve the agricultural water supply system to ensure uninterrupted Han River water supply so that farmers can focus on farming without water concerns, and through proactive advance monitoring activities, I will do everything possible to prevent crop damage."