EDITORIAL from the JoongAng Daily on April 15)

Boosting the water supply

The government says it is considering raising the volume of stored water by
linking the Andong and Imha dams in North Gyeongsang Province, as part of a
project to rehabilitate the country???s four major rivers.

As the government envisions, excess water from heavy rains will be directed from
the smaller Imha Dam, which has a capacity of 590 million tons, to the bigger
Andong Dam, with a capacity of 1.25 billion tons, boosting the overall volume by
around 30 million tons.
The plan seems worthwhile, given that water volume can be increased by a huge
margin without having to construct a new dam. Therefore, we recommend that the
government connect the plan to its four rivers restoration project and promote it
as a solution to the nation???s water shortage problems.
There are extreme gaps in the volume of water that the four rivers -- the Han,
Yeongsan, Nakdong and Geum -- can contain. If this issue is resolved it would go
a long way toward resolving the chronic water shortage problem in some regions.
These days, it???s the gap in water supply, not the gap in income, that is the
key to understanding the gap in quality of life between regions. Balanced
regional development will still be a distant dream until that gap is narrowed.
Connecting the Han River, which has more than enough water storage capacity, and
the Nakdong River, which has been stricken with chronic water shortage, is
expected to bring immediate benefits.
The government has emphasized that the four rivers project is an eco-friendly
initiative that will give local residents better access to the rivers in their
neighborhoods.
The project will involve dredging the river bottom to enhance water storage
capacity and beautifying the surrounding area.
But there are still some environmental groups and residents who suspect the
project is a cover for a grand canal project the government said it had given up
last year.
The government needs to clarify that the mission of the four rivers project is to
resolve the country???s water shortage issues.
And rather than continuing to promote the ambiguous concept of ecological
benefits, the government needs to explain that the nation???s water supply can be
better managed if the four rivers are connected.
The technical difficulties involved in linking the rivers is best accomplished
through a large underground pipe, instead of creating an open waterway. Better
use of this information could help the government free itself of the suspicion
that the project is laying the groundwork for a revival of the grand canal
project.
(END)