Environment ministry steps up Pyeongrim Dam drought response

The environment ministry said that Pyeongrim Dam had entered the "caution" drought stage after rainfall in its basin this year totaled 525 millimeters, just 64 percent of the usual level.

The reservoir held 5.66 million tons of water, equal to 55 percent of capacity and 89 percent of the level typical for this time of year.

The dam had been in the lower "attention" stage since July 8 before moving to caution on Aug. 2. It supplies household and industrial users with 22,000 tons a day, along with 14,000 tons for irrigation and 4,000 tons for river maintenance across Yeonggwang, Damyang, Jangseong and Hampyeong.

With a move to the caution stage expected, the government began linking Pyeongrim with the Su-yangje reservoir on July 24 to store up to 15,000 tons of water a day at the dam.

Under the caution-stage plan, household and industrial users will continue to receive their contracted volumes, while irrigation allocations may be cut by up to 30 percent and river-maintenance water halted. Daily reductions of up to 4,000 tons are planned for each of agricultural and river-maintenance supplies, with agricultural cuts based on monthly actual use. The ministry expects water supplies to remain stable this year even if the drought worsens.

Transfer volumes and frequency will depend on conditions at Su-yangje and Jangseong Dam, whose storage rates stood at 50.2 percent and 33.3 percent, respectively, on Aug. 2.

"Regional differences in rainfall have recently grown, and floods and droughts are occurring at the same time," Song Ho-seok, water resources policy director at the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment, said. "We will do our utmost to prepare for potential flood damage while minimizing drought damage in southern regions."