Korea''s project to renovate four rivers (Han, Geum, Nakdong and Yeongsan) is aimed at preventing natural disasters, such as flood and drought, and to manage water resources efficiently. What''s involved in the project though is not just construction of dams or improving riverbanks. It requires high-tech IT skills.

The restoration work is best represented as ridding river beds of accumulated waste, bolstering embankments and the creation of ecological swampy lands. But what is hidden behind that work is information and communication technology (ICT). They are needed to monitor underwater ecosystems, inventory and manage submarine natural resources, maintain water quality up to a certain level, and prevent water-related disasters on a real-time basis.

A so-called “Clean and Green IT Sensor” that monitor rivers and their risk factors, a comprehensive watercourse database system, a Four-river virtual voyage service, and submarine eco-protection robots are being developed by the Korean government and private enterprise. This could be called innovation rather than restoration.

The aforementioned systems are critical for dealing with drought and flood, water level maintenance and water purity control. The systems can also be used for developing new renewable energy resources, experts say.

Han River Flood Control Office

ICT-assisted monitoring systems will not only constantly check water volume, pollution sources, water quality and sediment accumulation, but will also gauge water temperature, hydrogen ion concentration, dissolved oxygen levels and water turbidity.

Until now, Korea''s water resource management has been supervised by separate regional authorities, and there have existed many similar online water resource control systems, such as the Water Management Information System, the Water Management Information Networking System, and the River Management Geographic Information System. However, the Clean and Green IT Sensor, which is being developed by the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute, is expected to unify all these channels.

The Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials (KIMM) has recently joined international efforts to develop a robot fish, which will be on submarine duty locating pollution sources, measuring water temperatures and oxygen levels, and supervising the underwater ecosystem. Such robot fish are being developed for environmental, military and entertainment purposes worldwide.

KIMM is also developing an eco-friendly water purification device, which enlarges the number of aerobic microbes in the water by providing sufficient oxygen. Specially bred microbes will detoxify the watercourse, according to the institute.

There are other efforts too. The Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology is developing a product that separates pollutants from waste water, which can then be reused as industrial water, while the Korea Institute of Energy Research is devoted to developing ethanol, electric power or heat from agricultural waste and sewage around the four rivers.

On the flip side of the four rivers restoration project, there is great potential for the development of IT convergence industries. Green growth, the motto of the times, should leap forward, supported by the country''s already advanced information technology. It would be ideal if the country''s IT prowess could help revive the miracle of Cheonggyecheon (Cheonggye Stream) restoration in these major four watercourses.