Gyeongbuk Province to Spend 660 Billion Won on Renovating Aging Water Supply Systems in All Cities and Counties

Layered Management of Water Supply Pipes in All 23 Cities and Counties by 2024
Gumi and Goryeong Selected for Ministry of Environment's 'Aged Water Supply Maintenance Project' Competition

Before and after images of the aged water supply pipeline maintenance project.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Dongwook Park] Gyeongsangbuk-do announced on the 9th that Gumi City and Goryeong County have been finally selected in the water supply network category of the Ministry of Environment's public contest project, '2020 Aged Water Supply Pipe Maintenance Project,' securing a project budget of 32 billion KRW (16 billion KRW in national funds) for five years from this year to 2024.

The Ministry of Environment established a goal to resolve the national tap water distrust issue, which emerged due to the red water incident in Incheon City last year, by 2024. Earlier this year, it called for applications nationwide for the aged water supply pipe maintenance national subsidy project. Among the 37 applicant local governments, after evaluation procedures considering aging level, urgency, post-maintenance management system, and project implementation willingness, nine locations were finally selected (Gumi City, Goryeong County, Ganghwa County in Incheon, Chuncheon City, Goyang City, Dongducheon City, Suwon City, Dalseong County in Daegu, and Jeongeup City).

The 'Aged Water Supply Pipe Maintenance Project' is a local water supply modernization project applying new technologies such as establishing a block system that manages complex water supply pipes by hierarchical division, leakage detection, replacement of aged water pipes, and establishment of maintenance management systems.

In Gyeongbuk Province, the aged water supply pipe maintenance project has been underway since 2017 with a total project cost of 661.8 billion KRW (397 billion KRW in national funds), aiming for completion by 2024. Additionally, with the recent selection of Gumi and Goryeong areas in this public contest project, Gyeongbuk Province can now promote the aged water supply pipe maintenance project across all 23 cities and counties.

Choi Dae-jin, Director of the Environment, Forestry and Resources Bureau of Gyeongbuk Province, stated, "Local water supplies operated directly by local governments face difficulties in efficient facility improvement and maintenance due to water rates lower than production costs and financial burdens on local governments. We will strive to fundamentally improve the quality issues of tap water through this project."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.