Over the past five years, the national water quality monitoring system, which is supposed to operate 24 hours a day, has experienced more than 2,200 measurement interruptions. Some monitoring stations have seen all measurements halted for over 300 days, and more than one in four water quality alerts were false alarms.
On October 15, Cha Kwang-myung, acting president of the Korea Environment Corporation, acknowledged the prolonged measurement interruptions during a National Assembly audit by the Climate Energy Environment Labor Committee, responding to inquiries from Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Joo-young regarding the operation of the national water quality monitoring system.
Kim pointed out that there were 2,253 instances of failures and missing data in the monitoring system that should operate continuously over the last five years, including 937 cases where all measurement items were simultaneously halted.
Among these, 474 cases involved interruptions lasting more than seven days, and 102 cases lasted over 30 days. The Naeseongcheon monitoring station was out of operation for approximately 313 days, while the Cheongmicheon station in the Han River basin experienced the longest interruption at 324 days.
Notably, during an incident in September of last year when contaminated dredged soil flowed into the Naeseongcheon in Bonghwa County, turning the river gray, the monitoring station for that river was also found to be non-operational.
Cha stated, "We take the long-term interruptions seriously, as continuous monitoring is essential for the national water quality monitoring system's purpose."
Concerns were also raised about the accuracy of alerts. Kim noted that out of 2,800 water quality alerts issued in the past five years, 741 (26.5%) were false alarms, with 731 (98.7%) of those attributed to equipment issues. The false alarm rate increased from 21% in 2022 to 31% last year.
The aging of measurement equipment is also a significant concern. As of August this year, out of 430 measuring devices, 222 (51.6%) had exceeded their seven-year lifespan. No equipment was replaced last year, and only one was replaced by August this year. Seven devices were deemed irreparable.
Kim urged the establishment of a comprehensive maintenance plan that includes alternative monitoring for long-term interrupted stations, an emergency recovery system, and prioritization for replacing aging equipment along with securing necessary budgets. Cha responded, "We will do that."
On October 15, Cha Kwang-myung, acting president of the Korea Environment Corporation, acknowledged the prolonged measurement interruptions during a National Assembly audit by the Climate Energy Environment Labor Committee, responding to inquiries from Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Joo-young regarding the operation of the national water quality monitoring system.
Kim pointed out that there were 2,253 instances of failures and missing data in the monitoring system that should operate continuously over the last five years, including 937 cases where all measurement items were simultaneously halted.
Among these, 474 cases involved interruptions lasting more than seven days, and 102 cases lasted over 30 days. The Naeseongcheon monitoring station was out of operation for approximately 313 days, while the Cheongmicheon station in the Han River basin experienced the longest interruption at 324 days.
Notably, during an incident in September of last year when contaminated dredged soil flowed into the Naeseongcheon in Bonghwa County, turning the river gray, the monitoring station for that river was also found to be non-operational.
Cha stated, "We take the long-term interruptions seriously, as continuous monitoring is essential for the national water quality monitoring system's purpose."
Concerns were also raised about the accuracy of alerts. Kim noted that out of 2,800 water quality alerts issued in the past five years, 741 (26.5%) were false alarms, with 731 (98.7%) of those attributed to equipment issues. The false alarm rate increased from 21% in 2022 to 31% last year.
The aging of measurement equipment is also a significant concern. As of August this year, out of 430 measuring devices, 222 (51.6%) had exceeded their seven-year lifespan. No equipment was replaced last year, and only one was replaced by August this year. Seven devices were deemed irreparable.
Kim urged the establishment of a comprehensive maintenance plan that includes alternative monitoring for long-term interrupted stations, an emergency recovery system, and prioritization for replacing aging equipment along with securing necessary budgets. Cha responded, "We will do that."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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