Larvae Found in Tap Water at 7 Locations Including Incheon: "No Tap Water Issues in Seoul, Busan, etc."

Ministry of Environment Inspects 49 Advanced Water Treatment Plants Nationwide
Larvae Found on Activated Carbon Surface at 7 Sites Including Incheon Gongchon and Bupyeong
Larvae Not Found at Water Treatment Plants and Reservoirs in Seoul and Busan
"Apartment Water Tanks and Household Drains Suspected as Causes"
Complete Survey of 435 General Water Treatment Plants Nationwide Completed

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The government announced that larvae were found in seven water purification plants, including Gongchon and Bupyeong purification plants in Incheon. It was reported that the larvae found in Seoul and Busan were determined not to be caused by issues in the tap water supply process.

The Ministry of Environment announced on the 21st that it conducted an emergency inspection of 49 water purification plants nationwide equipped with activated carbon filters and found larvae in seven of them. Activated carbon filters have recently been identified as the cause of complaints about larvae in Incheon tap water.

Larvae were found in seven water purification plants: Incheon Gongchon, Incheon Bupyeong, Gyeonggi Hwaseong, Gimhae Samgye, Yangsan Beomeo, Ulsan Hoeya, and Uiryeong Hwajeong. Operational issues such as the absence of insect screens were pointed out at 12 purification plants. The plants with identified problems were instructed to complete corrective measures by the 23rd and report to the Ministry of Environment.

The larvae found in Incheon were revealed to have hatched in the activated carbon filters within the purification plants and were not filtered out, thus being supplied to homes through the purification plants and water reservoirs. The Ministry of Environment believes that discharging the remaining larvae in the supply and distribution pipelines will resolve the issue.

Since the 16th, the Ministry of Environment, Incheon City, and the Hangang Basin Environmental Office have jointly formed an "Incheon Tap Water Larvae Expert Joint Precision Investigation" team to investigate the causes of larvae occurrence at Gongchon and Bupyeong purification plants. The Ministry of Environment stated that it plans to establish and implement recurrence prevention measures based on the investigation results.

Meanwhile, regarding complaints about larvae found in tap water in Seoul, Busan, Hwaseong, and Paju, the Ministry of Environment explained that "it was determined not to be a problem in the tap water supply process" based on on-site investigation results.

The larvae found on the bathroom floor of an officetel in Seoul were judged likely to have originated from external factors such as the drainage system.

The mosquito and fly larvae in Busan are presumed to have originated from sewers and similar sources.

In Hwaseong and Paju, larvae were confirmed not to have been found in purification plants, water reservoirs, or storage tanks. They are presumed to have entered from external sources such as drains.

The Ministry of Environment plans to complete an emergency full inspection of 435 general water treatment plants nationwide during the relocation period.

Shin Jinsoo, Director of the Water Integration Policy Bureau at the Ministry of Environment, said, "To resolve the public's distrust of tap water and supply safe water, the government will make every effort to prevent the spread of this tap water incident and restore normalcy."

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