K-water pre-releases water from 20 dams to brace for sudden heavy rains

Korea Water Resources Corporation (K-water) held its second-quarter all-company management meeting at its headquarters in Daejeon on Monday, with President Yoon Seok-dae presiding over some 170 executives and department heads from across the country.

The meeting was convened to share field-focused management priorities and discuss response strategies following the start of the official flood season, which runs from June 21 to Sept. 20.

Discussions centered on preemptive dam operations to ease pressure on downstream rivers and reservoirs — taking into account rapidly shifting climate conditions, including growing volatility from summer El Niño development — as well as company-wide measures against compound disasters such as heat waves and algae blooms.

In line with the government's flood response policy, K-water carried out preemptive releases from 20 multipurpose dams nationwide ahead of the flood season, securing 6.8 billion cubic meters of flood-control capacity and reducing the burden on river basins in advance.

Building on that, the corporation plans to operate the dams with a focus on water retention through the latter half of the flood season, while efficiently managing its floodgate release system to ensure stable water supply amid regional climate variability.

K-water currently maintains a round-the-clock emergency response posture, with dedicated disaster-response duty teams organized around the Water Management Integrated Operations Center at its headquarters.

In line with the government's seasonal algae management policy, the corporation is also concentrating efforts on creating a safe and clean water environment — proactively managing pollutant inflows before algae blooms occur and immediately deploying mitigation equipment to improve water flow when blooms arise.

"We will mobilize all available resources to ensure public safety against extreme weather events such as torrential rains and heat waves," Yoon said. "All employees will strengthen our foundations with a firm sense of crisis and fulfill our core responsibilities even amid this summer's complex disaster conditions."