Pohang City Conducts Emergency Inspection of Water Facilities... Strengthening Manganese Monitoring in Tap Water

"Incheon and Pohang Differ: Pohang Uses Sand Filtration for Water Purification"

Pohang City Tap Water Promotion Center.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Dongwook Park] Pohang City announced on the 17th that it conducted an emergency inspection of all water supply facilities, including 8 water purification plants, 10 water storage tanks, water pipelines, and consumer water tanks, on the 15th and 16th in response to the recent tap water larvae incident that occurred in Incheon.

According to Pohang City’s Clear Water Business Headquarters, the advanced water purification facility in Incheon where larvae were found uses activated carbon filters, whereas Pohang’s facilities use sand instead of activated carbon.

They explained that the sand filters are cleaned twice as often as the standard, every 1 to 2 days, and chlorine (bleach) is properly injected at three locations (intake well, filter inlet, and purified water tank) during the purification process to kill bacteria and other microorganisms and disinfect the water, making the occurrence of larvae impossible.

As a result of an urgent inspection of the tap water filters by 25 filter monitoring personnel, it was confirmed that there were no larvae or foreign substances in the tap water filters, and the condition was good and safe.

To prevent the discoloration problem of tap water filters that occurred last year, Pohang City manages (removes) manganese in tap water to less than 1% of the standard value (0.05 ppm). Manganese monitoring and filter filtration tests are conducted in major water supply areas, and regular backwashing and pipe cleaning are performed.

Meanwhile, in the Pohang area, from August 10 to 18 last year, there were numerous complaints that filters installed on faucets or showers turned dark reddish, and when wet wipes were soaked in water for a few minutes, stains or residues appeared. At that time, the Korea Water Resources Corporation, which was requested to investigate by the Pohang tap water private expert investigation team, announced that the cause of the filter discoloration was manganese deposited in the water pipes.

In this regard, Pohang City is carrying out network maintenance projects and old pipe replacement projects annually by investing 50 billion KRW, including national subsidies, until 2025.

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