Seoul City to Offer Free Tap Water Quality Testing for 100,000 Households This Year... Applications Open from the 10th

Preventing COVID-19 Spread with Non-Face-to-Face and Outdoor Water Quality Testing... Operated Until October for Homes and Others
Testing 5 Water Quality Items Including Turbidity and Residual Chlorine... Analyzing Results for Water Supply Environment Improvement Consulting

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul Metropolitan Government will begin accepting applications for the free tap water quality inspection service, 'Arisu Quality Verification System,' starting on the 10th. Over the course of eight months until October this year, they plan to conduct on-site water quality inspections for 100,000 households, drinking fountains, and other locations.

'Arisu Quality Verification System' is a free on-site water quality inspection service that Seoul first implemented nationwide in 2008. Up until last year, it has conducted water quality inspections for 5,953,000 households over 14 years. Among these, only 0.14% of the inspected sites (8,297 locations over 14 years) required improvements in their water supply environment, indicating that the water quality inspection results were generally favorable.

Through the Arisu Quality Verification System, Seoul allows citizens to directly verify the safety of tap water with their own eyes. Additionally, by analyzing the inspection results, the city provides consulting on the condition of each household’s water pipes and support for replacing aging pipes. For households with unsatisfactory inspection results, customized consulting is provided, including replacing old pipes, cleaning water tanks, and adjusting water levels to improve the water supply environment.

Water quality inspections are conducted on five items: residual chlorine, iron, copper, turbidity, and pH, with results provided immediately on-site. If the primary inspection results are unsatisfactory, a secondary inspection is conducted on seven additional items: general bacteria, total coliform group, Escherichia coli, zinc, manganese, chloride ion, and ammonia nitrogen. The causes are diagnosed and solutions are provided accordingly.

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

Gu Ami, Director of the Waterworks Business Headquarters, stated, “Seoul’s tap water, Arisu, is a safe food product that was the first in the domestic waterworks sector to obtain the international certification for Food Safety Management System (ISO22000). We hope that through the Arisu Quality Verification System, citizens will directly check their home tap water quality and drink with confidence.”

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