South Korean reservoir water quality fails to improve despite massive spending

Data from the Korea Rural Community Corporation reveals that massive investments in agricultural water quality improvement projects have failed to yield consistent results. Between 2021 and September 2024, approximately 154.7 billion KRW was allocated to these projects, yet the number of reservoirs failing to meet the Grade IV water quality standard increased by 34.4%, rising from 61 to 82 sites.

In the Incheon region, specifically Ganghwa County, the Gogu, Nanjeong, and Daesan reservoirs all recorded Grade V water quality, failing to reach the target level despite previous improvement efforts. Some sites, such as the Nanjeong and Daesan reservoirs, saw temporary improvements to Grade IV in 2024 only to regress to Grade V the following year, highlighting issues with long-term maintenance.

Legislators have criticized the current management, noting significant regional budget imbalances. While 92.1% of the total budget was concentrated in four regions—Chungnam, Gyeongbuk, Jeonnam, and Incheon—other areas like Gyeonggi and Chungbuk received no budget for several consecutive years despite ongoing water quality issues. Lawmakers are calling for a complete overhaul of the budget allocation and management systems to ensure funds are directed toward the most critical areas and that improvements are sustained through better pollution source control.