Citibank Korea geared for water purification at Gyeongin Ara Waterway

SEOUL--(Korea Newswire)--Citibank Korea Inc. (CEO Ha, Yung-ku, www.citibank.co.kr) concluded the “Ara Waterway Gaggumi (Preservation)” agreement with K-Water near Shicheon Bridge of Gyeongin Ara Waterway located in Geomam-dong in Incheon City in the morning of Aug. 23rd. On the day of the agreement signed, the participants joined water quality improvement activities in and around the Ara Waterway using the EM*(Effective Microorganisms) balls. Citibank Korea is the first private enterprise to participate in the environment protection of the canal, and the employees of the multinational financial institution will make the EM balls right on site and throw them into the waterway on a bi-monthly basis as part of the eco-friendly efforts.

Gyeongin Ara Waterway is a canal that connects Haengju Bridge located over the downstream of the Han River and Geomam-dong and Shichen-dong in Seo-gu of the port city of Incheon. The waterway opened in 2012 and the areas surrounding the canal that expands to 18km in length is being transformed into a charming resting place for citizens where they can enjoy riding bicycles on the bicycle-only roads, working out using various kinds of sports facilities, and relaxing at parks. Citibank Korea will be actively involved in the efforts to make clean the water of Ara Waterway using the EM balls. Currently, the water quality of the canal is just at the level of that of the Han River downstream. In line with such water purification efforts, it will take part in the initiative of the K-water that aims to develop the area surrounding the downstream of the waterway into a great resting place for citizens by creating a walking path in the forest and so on.

On the day of signing, a total of 80 Citibank Korea employees, 20 K-Water officers, and another 20 from YWCA Incheon that is staging progressive environment protection activities using EM balls near Seunggicheon, and Gulpocheon of the Incheon city took a solid first step of ‘Ara Waterway Gaggummi’ project. YWCA Incheon explained what EM was, how EM worked, and how they made the EM balls, and the participants made the EM balls with red clay, put them in the storage for fermenting, and threw the pre-made EM balls into the canal on the water stage under the Shicheon Bridge before closing the day’s event.

*EM, an acronym for Effective Microorganisms, is a combination and mixture of dozens of helpful microorganisms among countless microbes existing in the nature. The EM fermenting liquid is mixed with red clay and the mixture is shaped into balls, and fermented. The fully fermented clay balls are thrown into the stream to help improve the water quality.

Website: http://www.citibank.co.kr

This is a news release distributed by Korea Newswire on behalf of this company.