Changwon Mayor Hong Nampyo: "We Will Completely Overhaul Water Management Facilities"

Request for Cleaning Water Tanks and Reservoirs in Apartments and Detached Houses After the 30th

Hong Nampyo, Mayor of Changwon City, Gyeongnam, is giving a briefing on the larvae issue at Seokdong Water Purification Plant in Jinhae-gu. / Photo by Ryeong Lee ryeong@

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Seryeong] “Based on the cause diagnosis to be revealed in the future, we will completely overhaul the outdated administration and old systems of overall water management.”

Hong Nampyo, mayor of Changwon City, Gyeongnam, declared on the 23rd that he would completely reform the tap water management facilities in the district following the discovery of larvae at the Seokdong Water Purification Plant in Jinhae-gu.

At a briefing on the same day, Mayor Hong said, “As of the 23rd, clean water with no further larvae detected is being supplied from the purification plant,” and added, “By the end of July at the latest, clean water will flow through the water pipes connected to each household.”

He emphasized, “We are currently investigating the cause and inflow route of the larvae by mobilizing a joint special investigation committee composed of public and private sectors,” and promised, “We will disclose the identified causes and diagnostic results through the special committee’s announcement later.”

Changwon City announced that immediately after the larvae were discovered on the 7th, it prioritized blocking further spread and external leakage of larvae, and implemented seven emergency measures including strengthening chlorine injection and cleaning the purification process.

The measures taken by the city include ▲cleaning internal process equipment of the purification plant ▲installing multi-layer filters at the final stage of the purification process ▲thorough cleaning of 13 water reservoirs and installation of multi-layer filters ▲complete blocking of larvae within the purification process ▲complete flushing of tap water in the pipelines.

Mayor Hong affirmed, “The remaining tap water in the pipelines will be completely removed through fire hydrants by the 29th,” and added, “From August, clean water that can be safely consumed will be available.”

He urged apartment and commercial building management offices, as well as single-family households, to clean their water tanks and reservoirs starting from the 30th.

He stated, “Until this issue is fully resolved, we will continue supplying bottled water to vulnerable groups and daycare centers to prevent any inconvenience in daily life,” and added, “We have prepared fundamental measures to completely alleviate citizens’ anxiety and restore trust in water administration.”

The city plans to secure hygiene and safety at the Bansong, Chilseo, Seokdong, and Daesan water purification plants supplying tap water in the region and pursue obtaining the ISO22000 international certification for food safety management systems.

On this day, Mayor Hong promised, “We will regard tap water as a food product and manage it more reliably,” and said, “Our city will be completely innovated to be known as a place where water is trustworthy and safe to drink.”

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