The Daecheong Dam is a combination concrete gravity (made of concrete) and

embankment dam An embankment dam is a large artificial dam. It is typically created by the placement and compaction of a complex semi-plastic mound of various compositions of soil or rock. It has a semi-pervious waterproof natural covering for its surface ...

(made of earth) on the

Geum River The Geum River is a major river of South Korea that originates in Jangsu-eup, North Jeolla Province. It flows northward through North Jeolla and North Chungcheong Provinces and then changes direction in the vicinity of Greater Daejeon and fl ...

, north of

Daejeon Daejeon (; ) is South Korea's list of cities in South Korea, fifth-largest metropolis, with a population of nearly 1.5 million. Located in a central lowland valley between the Sobaek Mountains and the Geum River, the city is known both as a ...

in South Korea. The multi-purpose dam provides benefits of

flood control Flood management or flood control are methods used to reduce or prevent the detrimental effects of flood waters. Flooding can be caused by a mix of both natural processes, such as extreme weather upstream, and human changes to waterbodies and ru ...

, water supply and

hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

power generation. Construction on the dam began in 1975 and was formally commissioned on 1 December 1980. The high rock-fill dam has a central clay core and has created a reservoir with storage of . The reservoir is operated by the Korea Water Resources Corporation (K-water) for flood control, hydro-power generation and water supply.

Geography

The dam is built on the

, also spelled Keum River or Geumgang River, which is the longest river in the central part of South Korea. The downstream stretch of the river up to the estuary is . The dam drains a catchment area of . The land use pattern of the watershed is 74.5% of forest and hilly area, 16.3% of agricultural land of paddy and other crops, and 9.2% of urban area. The river is joined by five major tributaries and exhibits a

dendritic Dendrite derives from the Greek word "dendron" meaning ( "tree-like"), and may refer to: Biology *Dendrite, a branched projection of a neuron *Dendrite (non-neuronal), branching projections of certain skin cells and immune cells Physical *Dendri ...

(in the form of branches of a tree) drainage pattern. The catchment receives an annual average rainfall of of which more than 50% is recorded during the summer months from July to September, and many episodic (infrequent) events of more than have been recorded in a day. The hydrology of the project is thus influenced by the seasonal monsoon climate. There is scenic road on the entire periphery of the lake where Hyeonamsa Temple, and Munuihyanggyo Confucian School are located.

Features

The multipurpose Daecheong Dam completed in 1980 is in height, long and has a gross reservoir capacity of 1.49 million cubic meters. The reservoir water surface area is . It has three saddle dams on the reservoir periphery to prevent spilling of water. Following the building of the dam flood damage in the downstream reaches has been substantially prevented and

salinity Salinity () is the saltiness or amount of salt (chemistry), salt dissolved in a body of water, called saline water (see also soil salinity). It is usually measured in g/L or g/kg (grams of salt per liter/kilogram of water; the latter is dimensio ...

of the downstream land has also reduced. The annual inflow into the reservoir is 2,451 million cubic meter. The effective storage (live storage) created by the dam is 790 million cubic meter. The mean depth of water is with a mean residence time of 180 days. The High Flood Level (HFL) of the reservoir is EL 80 m and the Full Reservoir Level (FRL) is EL 76.5 m. An upstream dam on the upper basin of Geum River, about upstream, reduces the flow intensity and also the inflow into the reservoir. The water supply from the reservoir is provided to

Chungcheong Chungcheong Province (; ) was one of the eight provinces of Korea during the Joseon Dynasty. Chungcheong was located in the southwest of Korea. The provincial capital was located at Gongju, which had been the capital of the kingdom of Baekje ...

Cheongju Cheongju (; ) is the capital and largest list of cities in South Korea, city of North Chungcheong Province in South Korea. The 'Cheong' in the name of Chungcheong Province is the Cheong of Cheongju. History Cheongju has been an important prov ...

Jeollabuk-do North Jeolla Province, officially Jeonbuk State (), is a Administrative divisions of South Korea, Special Self-governing Province of South Korea in the Honam region in the southwest of the Korean Peninsula. Jeonbuk borders the provinces of Sout ...

areas which include

Gunsan Gunsan (; ), also romanized as Kunsan, is a Administrative divisions of South Korea, city in North Jeolla Province, South Korea. It is on the south bank of the Geum River just upstream from its exit into the Yellow Sea. It has emerged as a high-t ...

Jeonju Jeonju (, , ) is the capital and List of cities in South Korea, largest city of North Jeolla Province, South Korea. It is both urban and rural due to the closeness of Wanju County which almost entirely surrounds Jeonju (Wanju County has many resi ...

, and

Iksan Iksan (; ) is a Administrative divisions of South Korea, city and major railway junction in North Jeolla Province, South Korea. The city center and railway junction was formerly called "Iri" (), but merged with Iksan County (''Iksan-gun'') in 19 ...

. The dam has hydro power facility with installed capacity of 90 MW and the annual power generation is around 240 million kWh. Nutrient loading (contribution to

Eutrophication Eutrophication is a general term describing a process in which nutrients accumulate in a body of water, resulting in an increased growth of organisms that may deplete the oxygen in the water; ie. the process of too many plants growing on the s ...

) of the reservoir has occurred due to agricultural flows and from livestock farms in the catchment. It is classified as meso-stratified (influenced by biotic and abiotic factors).

Organic matter Organic matter, organic material or natural organic matter is the large source of carbon-based compounds found within natural and engineered, terrestrial, and aquatic environments. It is matter composed of organic compounds that have come fro ...

loading (contributed by plants and animals causing changes in the

chemical oxygen demand In environmental chemistry, the chemical oxygen demand (COD) is an indicative measure of the amount of oxygen that can be consumed by reactions in a measured solution. It is commonly expressed in mass of oxygen consumed over volume of solution, wh ...

( COD, a measure of the amount of organic compounds in water), Mn (manganese)) in the lake is about 78.3% during heavy rainfall season, from June to September.

Daecheong Dam Water Culture Center

On the bank of the reservoir, a water-themed cultural museum called the Daecheong Dam Water Culture Center was established on 6 July 2004. It has three exhibition halls which display information on the dam, uses of water, environmental features of the area around on the Geumgang River also on the aspect of cultural aspects of the villages which were submerged by the reservoir and about people living on its periphery. The center also has a theater, information center, and an observatory.

References

Bibliography

* *{{cite book, last1=Ho, first1=Goen , last2= Mathew , first2=Kuruvilla, title=Sustainability of Water Resources: Proceedings of the International Conference, Nov 2002, Perth Western Australia, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T28MP7oM24wC&pg=PA126, date=1 January 2004, publisher=IWA Publishing, isbn=978-1-84339-502-7 Dams in South Korea Hydroelectric power stations in South Korea Buildings and structures in Daejeon Dams completed in 1980 Flood control in South Korea

Geography

Features

Daecheong Dam Water Culture Center

See also

References

Bibliography