Gangeung set for drought relief with Doam Dam water release
Published: 19 Sep. 2025, 12:30
![Construction is underway to prepare for an emergency release from the Doam Dam on Namdae Stream in Gangneung, Gangwon, on Sept. 18. [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/09/19/5f3fce83-6eb8-456d-8bb5-80bdaceddcc6.jpg)
Construction is underway to prepare for an emergency release from the Doam Dam on Namdae Stream in Gangneung, Gangwon, on Sept. 18. [YONHAP]
GANGNEUNG, Gangwon — Gangneung, which has been struggling with an extreme drought, will begin receiving emergency water released from the Doam Dam on Saturday.
Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) will carry out the emergency release from a diversion tunnel in Daegwallyeong-myeon, Pyeongchang County, according to Gangneung city officials on Friday.
The scheduled time of release is 1 p.m., though it may change depending on coordination with Gangneung. The released water, totaling 10,000 tons per day, will flow into the Namdae Stream, pass through a temporary intake station, and be supplied to the Hongje Water Purification Plant.
KHNP originally planned a test release on Friday for facility inspection, but decided to proceed directly with the emergency release on Saturday due to construction delays. Excavators and dump trucks are currently in operation upstream of Namdae Stream near the dam outlet, building temporary barriers to prepare for the discharge.
Gangneung decided on Sept. 10 to accept emergency water from the dam on a temporary basis to cope with the drought. On Monday, the city launched a water quality verification committee, which held its second meeting on Thursday to review test results and discuss operational measures.
At the meeting, participants discussed water quality monitoring indicators and whether to open or close intake towers to block raw water inflow into the diversion tunnel. Experts from the Ministry of Environment and KHNP said the emergency release could meet drinking water standards once treated at purification plants.
![The water level rises at Obong Reservoir in Gangneung as rain fell on Sept. 18. [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/09/19/ea24556a-9323-41c1-9579-2910d8c13d21.jpg)
The water level rises at Obong Reservoir in Gangneung as rain fell on Sept. 18. [YONHAP]
Accordingly, Gangneung will conduct daily in-house tests on eight key indicators, including total organic carbon and total phosphorus, using samples collected at the outlet. Based on the results, the city will decide whether to send the released water to the purification plant.
“We are building barriers to prevent the released water from flowing directly into Namdae Stream,” a Gangneung city official said. “The test results will be transparently disclosed to residents.”
Meanwhile, the water level at Obong Reservoir, which supplies 87 percent of Gangneung’s tap water, has stabilized after recent rainfall. On Wednesday, the reservoir received 332,400 tons of natural inflow plus 5,600 tons from Namdae Stream, totaling 338,000 tons.
The reservoir's storage rate rose to 27.8 percent on Wednesday morning, up four percentage points from 23.8 percent the previous day.
With the drought dragging on, Gangneung began its second round of bottled water distribution on Thursday. Each resident is being provided with two packs of six two-liter bottles. Residents of apartment complexes with more than 300 households under restricted water supply are receiving three packs per person.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY PARK JIN-HO [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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