• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.55 no.2
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• pp.111-119
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• 2022

The occurrence of cyanobacterial blooming and the contaminant sources were analyzed in the downstream of Jecheon Stream, a tributary of Chungju Reservoir. The concentrations of chlorophyll a at the Myungseo Fishing Point (GPS; 37°03'25.5"N, 128°03'13.6"E) were 399.2 and 184.8 mg m^-3 on October 18, 2015 and September 25, 2016, respectively, and the concentrations of total microcystins, a cyanobacterial toxin mainly produced by Microcystis, were 124.09 and 79.71 ㎍ L^-1, respectively. The occurrence of cyanobacterial blooming at the downstream of Jecheon Stream was closely related to the water level of Chungju Reservoir. The cyanobacterial blooming occurred after the increase of water level in Chungju Reservoir, when the water body stagnated. As a result of analyzing National Water Quality Monitoring Data of the upper region of Jecheon Stream, the main source of pollutant was Jangpyeong Stream, the tributary of Jecheon Stream, and the discharge water from Jecheon Wastewater Treatment Plant located in Jangpyeong Stream was considered to be the most important source of contaminant.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.48 no.5
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• pp.80-88
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• 2020

With the issuance of one-week fine dust emergency reduction measures in March 2019, the public's anxiety about fine dust is increasingly growing. In order to assess the application of air purifying plant-based bio-filters to public facilities, this study presented a method for measuring pollutant reduction effects by creating an indoor environment for continuous discharge of particle pollutants and conducted basic studies to verify whether indoor air quality has improved through the system. In this study conducted in a lecture room in spring, the background concentration was created by using mosquito repellent incense as a pollutant one hour before monitoring. Then, according to the schedule, the fine dust reduction capacity was monitored by irrigating for two hours and venting air for one hour. PM₁₀, PM_2.5, and temperature & humidity sensors were installed two meters front of the bio-filters, and velocity probes were installed at the center of the three air vents to conduct time-series monitoring. The average face velocity of three air vents set up in the bio-filter was 0.38±0.16 m/s. Total air-conditioning air volume was calculated at 776.89±320.16㎥/h by applying an air vent area of 0.29m×0.65m after deducing damper area. With the system in operation, average temperature and average relative humidity were maintained at 21.5-22.3℃, and 63.79-73.6%, respectively, which indicates that it satisfies temperature and humidity range of various conditions of preceding studies. When the effects of raising relatively humidity rapidly by operating system's air-conditioning function are used efficiently, it would be possible to reduce indoor fine dust and maintain appropriate relative humidity seasonally. Concentration of fine dust increased the same in all cycles before operating the bio-filter system. After operating the system, in cycle 1 blast section (C-1, β=-3.83, β=-2.45), particulate matters (PM₁₀) were lowered by up to 28.8% or 560.3㎍/㎥ and fine particulate matters (PM_2.5) were reduced by up to 28.0% or 350.0㎍/㎥. Then, the concentration of find dust (PM₁₀, PM_2.5) was reduced by up to 32.6% or 647.0㎍/㎥ and 32.4% or 401.3㎍/㎥ respectively through reduction in cycle 2 blast section (C-2, β=-5.50, β=-3.30) and up to 30.8% or 732.7㎍/㎥ and 31.0% or 459.3㎍/㎥ respectively through reduction in cycle 3 blast section (C-3, β=5.48, β=-3.51). By referring to standards and regulations related to the installation of vegetation bio-filters in public facilities, this study provided plans on how to set up objective performance evaluation environment. By doing so, it was possible to create monitoring infrastructure more objective than a regular lecture room environment and secure relatively reliable data.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.355-358
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• 2013

BACKGROUND: Water-born pollution loads by agricultural non-point source (NPS) pollution are expected to become intensified due to ongoing precipitation change. Therefore, it is essential to develop a best management practice (BMP) that is suitable to agricultural environments in Korea. This study aimed to develop an environmental-friendly BMP to reduce NPS pollution load by agricultural activities. An eco-friendly way, small drainage pond, was suggested in this study to avoid direct drainage of agricultural runoffs and eventually reduce the amount of pollutants discharged into the surrounding aqua-environment. METHODS AND RESULTS: A small pond ($12m^2$) was constructed at the corner of a rice paddy field ($1,715m^2$) located in Suwon, Korea. Water was allowed to drain only via a small drainage pond. Sampling was repeatedly made at two locations, one from an entrance and the other from an exit of a pond, during the rice cultivation period (May to October, 2012). Generally, sampling was made only when runoff water drained through a pond, such as during and/or after rain (irrigation). The water quality analysis showed that all quality parameters (SS, $COD_{Mn}$, T-N, and T-P) were improved as water passed through the pond. The amount of runoff water was reduced by 96~100%. Suspended solids and COD concentrations was reduced by 79.3% and 45.6%, respectively. In case of T-N and T-P concentrations, the reduction rates were 52.2% and 60.5%, respectively and the amount of T-N and T-P were reduced by 16.3~73.0% and 15.4~70.1%, respectively. CONCLUSION(S): Our data implies that agricultural NPS pollution from rice paddy fields can be effectively managed when an appropriate drainage water management practice is imposed. In this paper, it was suggested that an installation of a small drainage pond can be effective to prevent not only the nutrient loss from rice fields but also pollutant discharge to surrounding water environments.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.34 no.7
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• pp.495-503
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• 2012

The water quality of Gul-po Stream, the subject of this study, has been deteriorating because of the inflow of domestic sewage and the industrial wastewater due to industrialization and the problems relating to the structure of river including slow flow rate and the covering of river. In particular, the domestic sewage from small-medium sized factories by the river and large-scale industrial complex by the upper and middle streams of the river, and the domestic sewage from increasing population due to the regional development are the main pollution sources. Thus, this study aims to survey the water quality and the sediment affecting Gul-po Stream; monitor the state of pollution in water body; assess the yield of sediment and investigate the water quality of river and the problems arising from sediment; and then suggest reasonable ways to improve the situation. The findings from surveying pollution load shows the discharge increases up to average 72.8 times from the upper stream to the downstream of Gul-po Stream, and pollution load increases up to: SS 111 times, BOD 150 times, COD 145 times, the nutrient T-N 222 times and T-P 312 times on an average basis. As for the pollution concentration range, ignition loss is 1.29~12.43%; COD is 4,015~37,547 kg/day; T-N and T-P 94.8~352.5 kg/day and 81.8~372.3 kg/day, respectively. As for the releasing rate of sediment, T-N is -14.46~$156.61mg/m^2/day$; T-P is -11.53~$26.10mg/m^2/day$, indicating the likelihood of internal contamination due to the elution of sediment. This study is expected to be used as basic data to manage Gul-po Stream basin.

• Ecology and Resilient Infrastructure
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.1-14
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• 2022

The total maximum daily load (TMDL) implemented in Korea mainly manages the mainstream considering a single common pollutant and river discharge, and the river system is divided into unit watersheds. Changes in the water quality of managed rivers owing to the water quality management in tributaries and unit watersheds are not considered when implementing the TMDL. In addition, it is difficult to consider the difference in the load of pollutants generated in the tributary depending on the conditions of the water quality change in each unit watershed, even if the target water quality was maintained in the managed water system. Therefore, it is necessary to introduce the total maximum load management at tributaries to manage the pollution load of tributaries with a high degree of pollution. In this study, the HSPF model, a watershed runoff model, was applied to the target areas consisting of 53 sub-watersheds to analyze the effect of water quality changes the in tributaries on the mainstream. Sub-watersheds were selected from the three major areas of the Paldang water system, including the drainage basins of the downstream of the South Han-River, Gyeongan stream, and North Han-River. As a result, BOD ranged from 0.17 mg/L to 4.30 mg/L, and was generally high in tributaries and decreased in the downstream watershed. TP ranged from 0.02 mg/L - 0.22 mg/L, and the watersheds that had a large impact on urbanization and livestock industry were high, and the North Han-River basin was generally low. In addition, a pollution source reduction scenario was selected to analyze the change in water quality by the amount of pollution load discharged at each unit watershed. The reduction rate of BOD and TP according to the scenario changes was simulated higher in the watershed of the downstream of the North Han-River and downstream and midstream of the Gyeongan stream. It was found that the benefits of water quality reduction from each sub-watershed efforts to improve water quality are greatest in the middle and downstream of each main stream, and it is judged that it can be served as basic data for the management of total tributaries.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.123-133
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• 2023

Wastewater generated in the secondary battery production process contains lithium and high-concentration sulfate. Recently, as demand as demand for high-Ni precursors with high-energy density has surged, nickel emission is also a concern. Lithium and sulfate are not included in the current water pollutant discharge standard, so if they are not properly processed and discharged, the negative effect on future environment may be great. Therefore, in this study, the ecotoxicity of lithium, nickel, and sulfate, which are potential contaminants that can be discharged from the secondary battery production process, was evaluated using water flea (Daphnia magna) and luminescent bacteria (Aliivibrio fischeri). As a result of the ecotoxicity test, 24-hour and 48-hour D. magna EC₅₀ values of lithium were 18.2mg/L and 14.5mg/L, nickel EC50 values were 7.2mg/L and 5.4mg/L, and sulfate EC₅₀ values were 4,605.5mg/L and 4,345.0mg/L, respectively. In the case of D. magna, it was found that there was a difference in ecotoxicity according to the contaminants and exposure time (24 hours, 48 hours). Comparing the EC₅₀ of D. magna for lithium, nickel, and sulfate, the EC₅₀ of nickel at 24h and 48h was 39.6-37.2% compared to lithium and 0.1-0.2% compared to sulfate, which was the most toxic among the three substances. The difference appeared to be at a similarlevelregardless of the exposure time. The EC₅₀ of sulfate was 253.0-299.7% and 639.5-804.6%, respectively, compared to lithium and nickel, showing the least toxicity among the three substances. The 30-minute EC₅₀ values of luminescent bacteria forlithium, nickel, and sulfate were 2,755.8mg/L, 7.4mg/L, and 66,047.3mg/L,respectively. Unlike nickel, it was confirmed that there was a difference in sensitivity between D. magna and A. fischeri bacteria to lithium and sulfate. Studies on the mixture toxicity of these substances are needed.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.297-305
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• 2023

The recycled irrigation is a type of irrigation that uses downstream water to fulfill irrigation demand in the upstream agricultural areas; the used irrigation water returns back to the downstream. The recycled irrigation is advantageous for securing irrigation water for plant growth, but the returned water typically contains high levels of nutrients due to excess nutrients inputs during the agricultural activities, potentially deteriorating stream water quality. Therefore, quantitative assessment on the effect of the recycled irrigation on the stream water quality is required to establish strategies for effective irrigation water supply and water quality management. For this purpose, a watershed model is generally used; however no functions to simulate the effects of the recycled irrigation are provided in the existing watershed models. In this study, we used multi-reservoir model coupled with the Hydrological Simulation Program-Fortran (HSPF) to estimate the effect of the recycled irrigation on the stream water quality. The study area was the Gwangok stream watershed, a subwatershed of Gyeseong stream watershed in Changnyeong county, Gyeongsangnam-do. The HSPF model was built, calibrated, and used to produce time series data of flow and water quality, which were used as hypothetical observation data to calibrate the multi-reservoir model. The calibrated multi-reservoir model was used for simulating the recycled irrigation. In the multi-reservoir model, the Gwangok watershed consisted of two subsystems, irrigation and the Gwangok stream, and the reactions (plant uptake, adsorption, desorption, and decay) within each subsystem, and fluxes of water and materials between the subsystems, were modeled. Using the developed model, three scenarios with different combinations of the operating conditions of the recycled irrigation were evaluated for their effects on the stream water quality.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.37 no.2 s.107
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• pp.180-192
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• 2004

This study was carried out to assess the seasonal variation of water quality and the effect of pollutant loading from watershed in a shallow eutrophic reservoir (Shingu reservoir) from November 2002 to February 2004, Stable thermocline which was greater than $1^{\circ}C$ per meter of the water depth formed in May, and low DO concentration (< 2 mg $O_2\;L^{-1}$) was observed in the hypolimnion from May to September, 2003. The ratio of euphotic depth to mixing depth ($Z_{eu}/Z_{m}$) ranged 0.2 ${\sim}$ 1.1, and the depth of the mixed layer exceeded that of the photic layer during study period, except for May when $Z_{eu}$ and $Z_{m}$ were 4 and 4.3 m, respectively. Most of total nitrogen, ranged 1.1 ${\sim}$ 4.5 ${\mu}g\;N\;L^{-1}$, accounted for inorganic nitrogen (Avg, 58.7%), and sharp increase of $NH_3$-N Hand $NO_3$-N was evident during the spring season. TP concentration in the water column ranged 43.9 ${\sim}$ 126.5 ${\mu}g\;P\;L^{-1}$, and the most of TP in the water column accounted for POP (Avg. 80%). During the study period, DIP concentration in the water column was &;lt 10 ${\mu}g\;P\;L^{-1}$ except for July and August when DIP concentration in the hypolimnion was 22.3 and 56.7 ${\mu}g\;P\;L^{-1}$, respectively. Increase of Chl. a concentration observed in July (99 ${\mu}g\;L^{-1}$) and November 2003 (109 ${\mu}g\;L^{-1}$) when P loading through two inflows was high, and showed close relationship with TP concentration (r = 0.55, P< 0.008, n = 22). Mean Chl. a concentration ranged from 13.5 to 84.5 mg $L^{-1}$ in the water column, and the lowest and highest concentration was observed in February 2004 (13.5 ${\pm}$ 1.0 ${\mu}g\;L^{-1}$) and November 2003 (84.5 ${\pm}$29.0 ${\mu}g\;L^{-1}$), respectively. TP concentration in inflow water increased with discharge (r = 0.69, P< 0.001), 40.5% of annual total P loading introduced in 25 July when there was heavy rainfall. Annual total P loading from watershed was 159.0 kg P $yr^{-1}$, and that of DIP loading was 126.3 kg P $yr^{-1}$ (77.7% of TP loading. The loading of TN (5.0ton yr-1) was 30 times higher than that of TP loading (159.0 kg P yr-1), and the 78% of TN was in the form of non-organic nitrogen, 3.9 ton $yr^{-1}$ in mass. P loading in Shingu reservoir was 1.6 g ${\cdot}$ $m^{-2}$ ${\cdot}$ $yr^{-1}$, which passed the excessive critical loading of Vollenweider-OECD critical loading model. The results of this study indicated that P loading from watershed was the major factor to cause eutrophication and temporal variation of water quality in Shingu reservoir Decrease by 71% in TP loading (159 kg $yr^{-1}$) is necessary for the improvement of mesotrophic level. The management of sediment where tine anaerobic condition was evident in summer, thus, the possibility of P release that can be utilized by existing algae, may also be considered.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.35-47
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• 2023

Korean facility horticulture and hydroponic cultivation methods increase, requiring the management of waste water generated. In this study, the amount of fertilizer contained in the discharged waste liquid was determined. By evaluating this as a price, it was suggested to reduce water treatment costs and recycle fertilizer components. It was evaluated based on the results of major water quality analysis of waste liquid by crop, such as tomatoes, paprika, cucumbers, and strawberries, and in the case of P component, it was analyzed by converting it to the amount of phosphoric acid (P₂O₅). The amount of nitrogen (N) can be calculated by discharging 1,145.90kg·ha^-1 of tomatoes, 920.43kg·ha^-1 of paprika, 804.16kg·ha^-1 of cucumbers, 405.83kg·ha^-1 of strawberries, and the fertilizer content of P₂O₅ is 830.65kg·ha^-1 of paprika, 622.32kg·ha^-1 of tomatoes, 477.67kg·ha^-1 of cucumbers. In addition, trace elements such as potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), iron (Fe), and manganese (Mn) were also analyzed to be emitted. The price per kg of each item calculated by averaging the price of fertilizer sold on the market can be evaluated as KRW, N 860.7, P 2,378.2, K 2,121.7, Ca 981.2, Mg 1,036.3, Fe 126,076.9, Mn 62,322.1, Zn 15,825.0, Cu 31,362.0, B 4,238.0, Mo 149,041.7. The annual fertilizer loss amount for each crop was calculated by comprehensively considering the price per kg calculated based on the market price of fertilizer, the concentration of waste by crop analyzed earlier, and the average annual emission of hydroponic cultivation. As a result of the analysis, the average of the four hydroponic crops was 5,475,361.1 won in fertilizer ingredients, with tomatoes valued at 6,995,622.3 won, paprika valued at 7,384,923.8 won, cucumbers valued at 5,091,607.9 won, and strawberries valued at 2,429,290.6 won. It was expected that if hydroponic drainage is managed through self-treatment or threshing before discharge rather than by leaking it into a river and treating it as a pollutant, it can be a valuable reusable fertilizer ingredient along with reducing water treatment costs.