Chungnam, Water Supply Modernization Project 'Increased Water Loss Rate and Budget Savings'

[Asia Economy (Hongseong) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] Chungnam Province is seeing significant improvements in water service efficiency and budget savings through its local water supply modernization project.

On the 30th, the province held a mid-year performance report meeting for the local water supply modernization project at Chilgapsan Recreation Land in Cheongyang.

The modernization project, with a total budget of 261.6 billion KRW, has been implemented in phases since 2017. This year, the project is being carried out in 11 cities and counties including Cheonan, Gongju, Boryeong, Seosan, Dangjin, Buyeo, Seocheon, Cheongyang, Hongseong, Yesan, and Taean.

This year’s activities, with a budget of 37.7 billion KRW, include detailed design, pipeline network maintenance, block system establishment, leak detection, and repair.

In particular, this year marks the completion of projects in county-level areas such as Buyeo, Seocheon, and Taean. The water service efficiency in these areas has increased from 63.1% before the project to 87.6% as of the first half of this year, exceeding the initial target of 85%.

The average water service efficiency across all cities and counties in the province, including the three counties of Buyeo, has also improved. The average efficiency, which was 63.1% in 2016, rose to 82.6% in the first half of this year. Yearly figures since the project started show improvements from 64.8% in 2018, 71.1% in 2019, to 79.7% last year.

The estimated budget savings achieved through this are approximately 14.7 billion KRW.

Based on the opinions gathered at the report meeting, the province plans to establish water service efficiency management measures for the three counties scheduled for completion this year.

Additionally, to ensure smooth progress of efficiency improvement projects in the eight cities and counties currently under construction, local companies will be designated as partner firms, and local talent and locally produced goods will be utilized.

Meanwhile, water service efficiency refers to the ratio of the volume of supplied water that is not lost through leakage and can generate economic benefits out of the total produced tap water.

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