Hapcheon Changnyeong Weir
Completed in 2011, Hapcheon Changnyeong Weir (합천창녕보; map; Hapcheon Changnyeong-bo) is the seventh of eight weirs built by the Four Rivers Project on the Nakdong River.
Along its 328-meter, 138 meters are 11.5-meter tall rotating watergates that store water upriver during droughts, and release it during floods. Two hydro generators on the weir’s east end generate 25 GWh of electricity each year.
The weir’s bridge not only allows bikers and pedestrians, two lanes permit cars to cross from Changnyeong (창녕군; map) to Hapcheon (합천군; map) Counties.
The white swooped masts of the weir’s central towers depict an ibis. These birds inhabit the Upo Wetlands (우포늪; map), South Korea’s largest inland wetlands and home to dozens of other endangered species. From the weir, it lays seven kilometers inland, as-the-ibis-flies.
East of the weir sits the Hapcheon Changnyeong-bo Certification Center and a Management Office (합천창녕보사업소; map). Though it lacks a convenience store, it boasts a water fountain, bathrooms, and an observation tower.
Riverside parks inhabit river banks on both sides of the weir.
