Untreated sewage allegedly polluting South Korea's Ramcheon River

Environmental organizations are raising concerns over alleged untreated sewage flowing into the Ramcheon River, a pristine waterway in Namwon, South Korea. Groups like 'Friends of the Otter' claim that the local Daejeong village sewage treatment plant is repeatedly overwhelmed, particularly during the summer vacation season, leading to pollution.

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The situation where wastewater flows into the river is repeated every time it rains in the upper reaches of Jirisan or when vacationers flock to the area.

These civic and environmental groups assert that the plant, designed to handle 130 tons of sewage daily, receives around 200 tons during peak times. They argue that Namwon city has failed to implement fundamental solutions, such as expanding the facility, despite recurring issues. The groups also pointed to a specific incident on July 29-30, where they allege the contracted private operator bypassed standard treatment times, discharging wastewater after only two hours instead of the usual four.

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There is a structure where the facility capacity can be exceeded whenever the amount of sewage inflow surges due to the increase in vacationers, but Namwon City has not prepared fundamental measures such as facility expansion.

This is not the first time such problems have occurred near the treatment plant. Environmental activists reported witnessing sewage overflows on weekends and a previous incident in April where sewage backed up from a manhole. They also noted that the private operator involved in the recent incident is the same one implicated in an unauthorized discharge at the Inwol pumping station in February, questioning Namwon city's oversight and preventative measures.

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The contracted private operator did not arbitrarily shorten the treatment process and discharge it.

Namwon city officials, however, countered the claims, stating the operator did not arbitrarily shorten the process. They explained that the plant switched to an emergency operation mode due to the high volume of incoming sewage. While acknowledging that the efficiency decreased, leading to a temporary discharge of turbid water with some residue, they stated that excess sewage is being redirected to nearby facilities and inflow is now managed between 130-140 tons per day. The regional environmental agency is currently testing the discharged water.

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Due to excessive inflow, treatment efficiency decreased, and it is understood that turbid water mixed with some residue and debris was temporarily discharged.