Saemangeum dredged areas become 'dead zones,' activists report

Environmental activists have revealed alarming findings regarding the Saemangeum National Industrial Complex, stating that areas dredged for its construction have become lifeless "dead zones." A joint investigation by the Saemangeum Citizen Ecology Survey Group and Professor Shinichi Sato from Shizuoka University in Japan discovered that the seabed sediment in the dredged zones has decomposed into a black, decaying state, rendering it uninhabitable for marine life.

The survey compared dredged and undredged sections within the complex. While living bivalves were observed in the undredged area, approximately 1.7 kilometers away, the dredged zone, deepened to 8 meters after soil removal, contained only black mud. The activists explained that the lower water flow in the dredged areas, unlike the shallower, circulating waters in undredged zones, has transformed these sections into "dead mud" areas, characterized by pollution and landfill impacts.

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The government is sticking to the method of procuring landfill soil through dredging in Saemangeum, but this only worsens water quality.

This phenomenon of oxygen depletion, known as a dead zone, occurs when the difference in salinity between seawater and freshwater prevents the upper and lower water layers from mixing effectively. The investigation noted that oxygen deficiency begins below 4 meters in the dredged areas. The survey group attributes this issue to the current management practice of maintaining the Saemangeum inner lake's water level 1.5 meters lower than the sea level.

While the sluice gates are officially meant to open twice daily for water quality and ecosystem preservation, they are reportedly kept closed for over ten days a month to maintain the lower water level. This artificial manipulation of water flow, activists argue, is causing the formation of oxygen-depleted water masses. They are demanding the permanent opening of the sluice gates to restore the natural flow of seawater and revive the Saemangeum estuary's ecosystem, criticizing the government's continued reliance on dredging for landfill material as detrimental to water quality.

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We must restore the local ecosystem by permanently opening the sluice gates.