A Study on an Integrated Water Quantity and Water Quality Evaluation Method for the Implementation of Integrated Water Resource Management Policies in the Republic of Korea

The existing methods of river evaluation tend to focus exclusively on water quantity; therefore, they do not provide a suitable methodology for integrated water management. In this study, research was carried out to develop an integrated river evaluation system that can simultaneously consider water...

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Main Authors: Ju Ha Hwang, Su Hee Park, Chul Min Song
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2020-08-01
Series:Water
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/12/9/2346
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author Ju Ha Hwang
Su Hee Park
Chul Min Song
author_facet Ju Ha Hwang
Su Hee Park
Chul Min Song
author_sort Ju Ha Hwang
collection DOAJ
description The existing methods of river evaluation tend to focus exclusively on water quantity; therefore, they do not provide a suitable methodology for integrated water management. In this study, research was carried out to develop an integrated river evaluation system that can simultaneously consider water quantity and water quality to improve the existing river evaluation methods. To this end, specific indicators were established to evaluate water quantity and water quality; moreover, an integrated evaluation formula was developed to express each indicator as an index. The integrated evaluation formula used additive functions and enabled integrated and comprehensive river evaluation through the sum of each indicator’s indices. The research subjects were rivers in the Paldang watershed, which surrounds important water resources in rep. of Korea. The rivers were analyzed using the study’s integrated river evaluation formula to identify the deteriorated grade of the water quality as well as the water quantity. Finally, the results of the integrated river evaluation rating were found to be poor or very poor. Based on this, the study determined that an integrated river management policy is required to simultaneously consider water quantity and water quality to restore the integrity of the rivers in the Special Countermeasures Area. The existing evaluations of rivers, which had been conducted only with a focus on water quantity, could be judged narrow or incomplete results. Based on this finding, it was also possible to identify an urgent need for a basic river management plan that can consider both water quantity and water quality organically. Ultimately, the study demonstrated that its methodology was able to make highly intuitive judgments about rivers’ current conditions; thus, it can be utilized to generate basic data for the establishment of customized river management policies.
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spelling doaj.art-479a5f714a31436684e41d504bda6c642023-11-20T10:50:58ZengMDPI AGWater2073-44412020-08-01129234610.3390/w12092346A Study on an Integrated Water Quantity and Water Quality Evaluation Method for the Implementation of Integrated Water Resource Management Policies in the Republic of KoreaJu Ha Hwang0Su Hee Park1Chul Min Song2National Disaster Management Research Institute, Ministry of the Interior and Safety, Ulsan 44538, KoreaDepartment of Agricultural Rural Engineering, Chungbuk National University, Choengju 28644, KoreaDeparment of Policy for Watershed Management, The Policy Council for Paldang Watershed, Yangpyeong 12585, KoreaThe existing methods of river evaluation tend to focus exclusively on water quantity; therefore, they do not provide a suitable methodology for integrated water management. In this study, research was carried out to develop an integrated river evaluation system that can simultaneously consider water quantity and water quality to improve the existing river evaluation methods. To this end, specific indicators were established to evaluate water quantity and water quality; moreover, an integrated evaluation formula was developed to express each indicator as an index. The integrated evaluation formula used additive functions and enabled integrated and comprehensive river evaluation through the sum of each indicator’s indices. The research subjects were rivers in the Paldang watershed, which surrounds important water resources in rep. of Korea. The rivers were analyzed using the study’s integrated river evaluation formula to identify the deteriorated grade of the water quality as well as the water quantity. Finally, the results of the integrated river evaluation rating were found to be poor or very poor. Based on this, the study determined that an integrated river management policy is required to simultaneously consider water quantity and water quality to restore the integrity of the rivers in the Special Countermeasures Area. The existing evaluations of rivers, which had been conducted only with a focus on water quantity, could be judged narrow or incomplete results. Based on this finding, it was also possible to identify an urgent need for a basic river management plan that can consider both water quantity and water quality organically. Ultimately, the study demonstrated that its methodology was able to make highly intuitive judgments about rivers’ current conditions; thus, it can be utilized to generate basic data for the establishment of customized river management policies.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/12/9/2346integrated water resource managementintegrated evaluationindicatorindex
spellingShingle Ju Ha Hwang
Su Hee Park
Chul Min Song
A Study on an Integrated Water Quantity and Water Quality Evaluation Method for the Implementation of Integrated Water Resource Management Policies in the Republic of Korea
Water
integrated water resource management
integrated evaluation
indicator
index
title A Study on an Integrated Water Quantity and Water Quality Evaluation Method for the Implementation of Integrated Water Resource Management Policies in the Republic of Korea
title_full A Study on an Integrated Water Quantity and Water Quality Evaluation Method for the Implementation of Integrated Water Resource Management Policies in the Republic of Korea
title_fullStr A Study on an Integrated Water Quantity and Water Quality Evaluation Method for the Implementation of Integrated Water Resource Management Policies in the Republic of Korea
title_full_unstemmed A Study on an Integrated Water Quantity and Water Quality Evaluation Method for the Implementation of Integrated Water Resource Management Policies in the Republic of Korea
title_short A Study on an Integrated Water Quantity and Water Quality Evaluation Method for the Implementation of Integrated Water Resource Management Policies in the Republic of Korea
title_sort study on an integrated water quantity and water quality evaluation method for the implementation of integrated water resource management policies in the republic of korea
topic integrated water resource management
integrated evaluation
indicator
index
url https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/12/9/2346
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