Effect of Water Quality Improvement Through Reclaimed Wastewater Supply in Gulpo River

Abstract

 In the case of urban rivers, there is a shortage of water to maintain the stream in case of drought, and there are problems caused by worsening water quality due to pollutants coming from urban areas. In the case of Korea, focus on ecological rivers and waterfront spaces has been increasing recently, and governments are making efforts to improve the water environment by actively promoting urban river restoration projects. Gulpo River is a national stream connected from Bupyeong-gu, Incheon to Gimpo-si, Gyeonggi-do, and reclaimed wastewater that has been ozone-treated in Gulpo sewage treatment water has been supplied as maintenance water in the upper section of Gulpo River since March 2019.

In this study, concentration of major water quality factors was quantitatively compared by utilizing the river water quality standards to analyze the effects of water quality improvement before and after the supply of ozone-treated reclaimed wastewater in the Gulpo River. Analysis sections within the Gulpo River were divided based on discharge points of water supply and sewage treatment wate, and major water quality concentrations were compared for each year before and after the supply of reclaimed wastewater. The results of quarterly water quality analysis centered on DO, BOD, TOC, SS and T-P used for environmental water quality standards showed that the DO concentration increased on average at all sections of Gulpo River, and the concentration of other major water quality parameters decreased, resulting in high water quality improvement effects.