GWANGMYEONG — Gwangmyeong will recycle groundwater discarded during construction of Hagon Station on the Shin-Ansan Line into water for a nearby park, creating a carbon-neutral green space. The city aims to raise energy efficiency and make fuller use of water resources through the project.
Discharged groundwater refers to water that naturally seeps out during the construction of subways or underground tunnels, the city said on the 20th. Around the Gwangmyeong Hagon public housing district, where Hagon Station is being built, an estimated average of 2,000 cubic meters of such groundwater is expected to emerge each day.
The city plans to use that water as a heating and cooling energy source and as landscaping water for a nearby cultural park. A water-source heat pump system that draws on temperature differences in the groundwater will heat and cool the park management office, while the water will also feed cooling fog systems, a stream, fountains and an ecological pond. Tapping both the thermal energy and the water itself is intended to cut energy consumption and water waste.
The management office will be built to generate 200% of the energy it consumes, an energy self-sufficiency target the city refers to as RE200, and the city expects the water-source heat system to maximize the building's energy efficiency.
Total project costs come to 3 billion won. The project was selected in a contest run by the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment for facilities that use discharged groundwater, securing state funds covering 50% of the cost. The city will provide 10% and Gyeonggi Housing & Urban Development Corporation (GH), the project operator, will cover the remaining 40%. Once the city provides the state and municipal subsidies, GH will oversee the entire project, including design, tendering for installation work and construction. Construction is targeted to begin in 2027.
"We will strengthen carbon-neutral practices that raise resource recycling rates in urban development and dramatically reduce carbon emissions, building a sustainable, eco-friendly future city," Gwangmyeong Mayor Park Seung-won said.