Water quality and supply issues in the Nakdong River Basin in the Republic of Korea.
A framework for evaluating alternative management strategies for the Nakdong River Basin in the Republic of Korea (South Korea) was developed and applied jointly by Argonne National Laboratory in Argonne, Illinois, USA, and the Research Institute of Industrial Science and Technology in Pohang, South Korea. Water from this basin, the second largest in South Korea, supports a total population of more than 13 million people. Rapid industrial expansion, urbanization, and population growth have dramatically increased the demand for water and have severely degraded water quality, particularly near large industrial complexes and in the lower portion of the basin. Management strategies for the entire basin through to the year 2011 were evaluated with a computer model for basin-wide predictions of water flow and quality (HSPF). This continuous-event model was developed and calibrated using site-specific data for the basin over a two-year period (1994-1995) that included periods of both high (monsoonal) and low (drought) flows. Water quality impacts for different wastewater treatment strategies were assessed in terms of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), nitrogen (N) and phosphorous (P) levels. The results of the study indicate that BOD levels in the main stem of the Nakdong River below the Kumhogang (a major tributary with low flow and heavy pollution loads) cannot be significantly improved by reducing direct BOD loads from point sources along the river. To reduce main stem BOD levels, the nutrient loading to the river must be reduced. In order to reduce these loads, additional advanced treatment methods (i.e., tertiary treatment) must be incorporated in the treatment facilities to remove N and P. The discharge inventory data further suggest that a large portion of N and P loads are derived from non-point agricultural practices. Reduction of these loads is difficult to accomplish and may require extensive modifications in agricultural and land-use practices. The modeling framework developed provides a means to evaluate these and other basin management strategies.
- Research Organization:
- Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- FOR
- DOE Contract Number:
- DE-AC02-06CH11357
- OSTI ID:
- 942865
- Report Number(s):
- ANL/EA/JA-35414; TRN: US200923%%653
- Journal Information:
- Environ. Eng. Policy, Vol. 2, Issue 2001; ISSN 1433-6618
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- ENGLISH
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