Busan City to Manage Tap Water Like Food... Announces Measures Against 'Kkaltagyu Yuchung' Larvae

Promotion of ISO22000 Certification... Improvement of Water Purification Plant and Reservoir Facilities... Strengthening Management of Storage Tanks and Water Tanks
Establishment of Comprehensive Measures Including Operation of 'Epidemiological Investi

Busan City Hall.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] Tap water in Busan is expected to be managed like ‘food’.

Busan City has announced a ‘Comprehensive Larvae Prevention Plan’ to manage the entire process of tap water production and supply following reports of chironomid larvae occurrence in tap water.

The city plans to treat tap water from water purification plants and reservoirs, which have been administratively managed so far, as ‘food’ and promote the ‘Food Safety Management System ISO22000 certification’ to block hazards throughout all production and supply processes.

Additionally, as a measure to suppress adult insect intrusion into purification plants and reservoirs, a budget of 48.7 billion KRW will be invested by 2022 to implement ▲ installation of fine insect screens and insect traps on doors and windows ▲ installation of covers to seal the top of granular activated carbon filters ▲ repair and reinforcement of the filtration function of the lower collection devices of granular activated carbon filters.

Management of apartment water tanks and household water tanks, which are managed by the private sector, will also be strengthened.

Currently, apartment water tanks are cleaned every six months according to the Water Supply Act, and inspections will be strengthened to ensure facility managers strictly comply with this.

Although there is no legal obligation to clean household water tanks, promotion will be intensified to encourage facility managers to clean them at least twice a year. In the longer term, the city plans to continuously expand reservoirs to increase direct water supply and carry out water tank removal projects.

To resolve distrust in tap water, a ‘Public-Private Joint Epidemiological Investigation Team’ composed of water quality experts, pipe specialists, and pest experts will also be operated.

Since chironomid larvae were found in tap water in Incheon on July 9, Busan City has received 176 reports of larvae occurrence.

Among these, 114 samples were actually secured, while the rest were reported only by photos or verbally.

Analysis of the 114 secured samples confirmed ▲ chironomids in 8 cases ▲ mosquitoes in 7 cases ▲ flies in 16 cases ▲ moth flies in 27 cases ▲ foreign substances, larvae, and other insects in 56 cases.

Unlike Incheon, Busan City considers that larvae did not occur in the same area at the same time and were not detected in purification plants. Taking these factors comprehensively into account, the cause of this larvae occurrence is presumed to be adult insects breeding indoors during the summer monsoon season.

Byun Sung-wan, Acting Mayor of Busan, said, “Until now, tap water quality management focused mainly on trace harmful chemical substances affecting the human body, but from now on, we plan to strengthen overall water quality management from raw water to faucets and establish a thorough prevention system against larvae intrusion.”

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