Paldang Lake, which provides the drinking water for the 20 million residents of the greater capital region, is having the quality of its water threatened. It's not the first time you've heard about it, either. People give quality of life and health issues the highest priority and still the most basic condition of life, drinking water, remains a problem.
It was about ten years ago that the government promised it would ease people's fears over at least drinking water, after the Nakdong River phenol disaster. It enacted comprehensive measures for water management in the country's four major rivers with a "special law" that charged "environmental burden fees" of residents who live downstream and enjoy the benefits of strict protection for upstream water sources. No less than W8.4 trillion has been spent on the project since 1998. The project comes to an end next year, but while the goal of Grade 2 water has been achieved at the Nakdong and Yeongsan rivers, the Han River hasn't reached that goal even though it was relatively better off to begin with. That's because no matter how many water treatment plants you build the accelerated pace of development means that you can't prevent harm done to water quality by nonpoint pollution sources.
Currently there are deregulation proposals waiting for implementation, moves that would stir up development near Paldang Lake. The enforcement ordinances for the "Greater Capital Region Urban Planning Law" is about to be amended so that the maximum land you can put together for building purposes is raised from 300,000 square meters from 60,000 square meters, and it is a big danger that the development capacity for nature preservation zones as defined in the "organized development zone" program that will take effect in the second quarter of next year will be increased. The "semi-agricultural zones" that were called the main culprits behind the indiscriminate development evidenced in things like "stand alone apartments" were made "managed zones," but now they are going to permit the construction of factories smaller than 10,000 square meters. Some of the "greater capital region development restricted zones" ("green belts") will have restrictions eased and be developed into "national rental apartment" land, and they are even going to allow the construction of golf courses.
Will one still be able to hope the quality of water in Paldang Lake remains the same? Unless the idea is to just give up on maintaining water quality, the government needs to reconsider plans to ease restrictions.
The Hankyoreh, 16 September 2005.
[Translations by Seoul Selection (PMS)]
