[Power Korea] Stable water supply: Lifeblood of economic growth

Water is one of the essential resources for the economic growth of a country. It contributes to food production, industry supply and the health and welfare of the people.

This is why Korea has continuously invested in water-related infrastructure, including multipurpose dams and water treatment systems, since the beginning stages of the nation’s economic development in the 1960s. 

Water resource development history in Korea

The primary objective of the development of water resources, therefore, is to provide a stable supply of water for the citizens to maintain a pleasant and safe lifestyle, and to establish a stable foundation for economic growth by supporting active production activities.

Korea is not a water-affluent nation. Korea’s initial water resources amount to 124 billion tons per year. Of that, 51.7 billion tons, or 42 percent, are lost by evaporation and permeation; another 38.6 billion tons, or 31 percent, are carried off to sea by flooding. Therefore, only 33.7 billion tons, or 27 percent, are used as a resource.

In light of these conditions, the government has set a new water resource development goal every decade and has achieved each one since the 1960s. In 1967, the government established the Korea Water Resources Corp., better known as K-water, in part to achieve those goals.

The nation’s water resource development history is divided into four periods. First, there was the period of full-scale water resources development (1961-1979), which focused on the construction of multipurpose dams for the integrated control and management of water resources. As Korea’s water resources are dominated by intense summer rainfall, it is necessary to prevent floods as well as to secure a stable water supply through continuous construction of dams.

The second period (1980-1988) was aimed at stable water resources development. The third period (1989-1994) saw a number of water pollution accidents, and assessing them became a priority.

The focus of the fourth period (1995-present) is harmony between development and the environment. Citizens’ demands for clean water, the continued water pollution, and the establishment of national environmental organizations were all indications of the conflict between development and environmental preservation.

Government-driven water development strategy

At the implementation level, Korea’s water resource development is driven by state-run K-water. Considering water a public good, the government thought a proper water supply was essential for economic development and thus established K-water in 1967.

The company’s business areas have been expanded from construction of multipurpose dams to water supply, industrial complexes and river restoration projects.

K-water dove into overseas business in 1994. At an early stage, it focused on identifying the status of overseas water resources and collecting basic data, while concentrating on exchanges of personnel and technology with target countries to strengthen mutual relationships.

Based on this experience, it is entering different water management markets, which are growing fast in developing countries.

Implications for developing countries

Since almost 90 percent of the nation’s water usage is surface water, river management is itself water management in Korea. River management in Korea can be divided into five major steps. In steps one and two, rivers were used as flood controllers.

Full-scale water resource development started in steps three and four, when the rivers’ irrigating functions were developed.

The most remarkable feature here was the transition to step five. This is a result of the public awareness of rivers’ water quality, raised from the 1990s. Full-scale river improvement projects in consideration of the environment began, and the government actively promoted policies on water quality issues.

Such changes have significant meaning. Environmental and water quality issues for rivers did not arise suddenly, but actually fully represent the result of the first four steps of river management.

In other words, while the existing policies did have positive effects, they incurred social costs as they did not take account of other aspects. As a result, the government has had to spend huge sums to solve various problems. Development models in developing and less developed countries tend to be path-dependent. Water management without a comprehensive vision will result in social costs in the future.

By Seo Jee-yeon (jyseo@heraldcorp.com)

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