Seoul City Conducts 'Visiting Water Quality Inspection' for 160,000 Households to Prevent Non-Face-to-Face COVID-19 Spread

Strengthening Water Quality Testing and Outdoor Water Quality Inspections to Minimize Citizen Contact and Prevent COVID-19 Spread

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that starting from the 8th, it will conduct the ‘Arisu Quality Verification Program,’ a free water quality inspection service that visits approximately 160,000 households and public drinking fountains this year. Notably, to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), a non-face-to-face water quality inspection service will be provided this year.

To prevent the spread of COVID-19 during the water quality inspection process, Seoul plans to minimize contact with citizens by implementing a ‘non-face-to-face tap water quality inspection.’ For home visits, citizens will collect tap water themselves using sample bottles provided by the water quality inspectors and hand them over. The inspection will then be conducted outside the door, and the results will be communicated accordingly.

Seoul plans to focus inspections on outdoor tap water pipes supplying each household and outdoor drinking fountains used during the summer. The target for this year’s water quality inspection is about 160,000 households. The inspection covers five items: residual chlorine, iron, copper, turbidity, and pH. If the primary inspection results are unsatisfactory, a secondary inspection will be conducted on seven additional items: general bacteria, total coliform group, Escherichia coli, zinc, manganese, chloride ion, and ammonia nitrogen. Causes will be diagnosed, and solutions will be provided.

Through the Arisu Quality Verification Program, Seoul not only enables citizens to visually confirm the safety of tap water but also analyzes inspection results to provide consulting on the condition of household water pipes and support for replacing aging pipes.

Earlier, to ensure the fairness of the inspection results, the city hired 120 local residents as water quality inspectors (Arisu Coordinators) and conducted a week-long training covering water sampling and inspection methods, on-site practical work, customer service, and COVID-19 prevention education.

The Arisu Quality Verification Program can be applied for via the Dasan Call Foundation (dial 120), the relevant waterworks office, or the Seoul Waterworks Headquarters website. The inspection is free of charge, and results are provided immediately on-site. Inspections are available on weekdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For those who find it difficult to receive inspections during the day due to reasons such as dual-income households, inspections can also be scheduled in the evening (from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.) by prior appointment.

Baek Ho, Director of the Seoul Waterworks Headquarters, stated, “Seoul’s tap water, Arisu, was the first in the domestic waterworks sector to obtain international certification for the Food Safety Management System (ISO22000), recognizing it as a safe food product. We will ensure that the clean and safe tap water produced at the Arisu Water Purification Center is properly supplied to every household faucet.”

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