The Gangneung City Council has expressed the need to receive 150,000 tons of discharge water stored in the Dam Tunnel of the Doam Dam to overcome severe drought.
On the 8th, the Gangneung City Council held an urgent meeting with the executing agency and requested to receive the discharge water from the Doam Dam Tunnel, which the Ministry of Environment evaluated as Grade 1. However, it was reported that due to current structural limitations, a maximum of 10,000 tons can only be accommodated per day, indicating constraints in solving the water shortage.
In relation to this, Gangneung City also stated that if the water from the Doam Dam Tunnel is suitable as a water source, it will collect opinions from citizens and experts before making a final decision.
The local governments near the Doam Dam, Jeongseon County and Yeongwol County, showed support for temporary discharges during an emergency countermeasure meeting. However, if the water discharged from the Doam Dam Tunnel flows into the Namdaechon below the Obong Reservoir, additional facilities must be installed to raise it to the Obong Reservoir, which is 600m away, resulting in some time required.
Kim Hyun-soo, a Gangneung city councilor, said at the city council's temporary session, "For now, we should accept the water, but the issue of full-scale discharge will be a matter to be discussed again with citizens after the drought is resolved."
The Doam Dam was constructed in 1990 on the Songcheon River and has been sending water to the Gangneung Hydroelectric Power Plant through a 15.6km aqueduct to generate electricity. Discharges and power generation were halted in 2001 due to water quality deterioration, but it is known that water quality has significantly improved following pollution source reduction projects.