Seoul City to Invest 61.8 Billion KRW to Replace Aging Residential Water Pipes, Main Cause of Rusty Water, by 2025

87% Replacement Completed... 61.8 Billion Invested by 2025 to Complete Support for Remaining 69,000 Households

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Seoul City announced on the 21st that it is actively supporting the replacement of ‘old residential water pipes,’ which greatly affect the quality of clean tap water, to create a drinking environment where tap water can be consumed with confidence.

According to the '2021 Tap Water Consumption Survey Report' released by the Ministry of Environment in October last year, 36.5% of Seoul citizens drink tap water as is or boiled (multiple responses allowed), and among the ‘policies that should be strengthened to improve satisfaction with tap water (multiple responses allowed),’ ‘support for replacing old residential water pipes (28.1%)’ was cited as one.

Since 2007, Seoul City has been supporting the cost of water pipe replacement construction for houses using old and rust-prone galvanized steel pipes to supply clear and clean tap water. As of this year, there are 69,000 remaining households in Seoul that need water pipe replacement, and the city plans to invest 61.8 billion KRW from this year until 2025 with the goal of replacing all remaining households.

The support amount covers up to 80% of the total construction cost. Detached houses receive up to 1.5 million KRW, multi-family houses receive differentiated amounts by the number of households up to 5 million KRW, and apartments and other collective housing receive up to 1.4 million KRW per household (800,000 KRW for household piping, 600,000 KRW for common piping).

The support targets all houses built before April 1994 that use galvanized steel pipes vulnerable to rust inside. Replacement cost support is also available for cases prior to business approval for reconstruction or redevelopment. For eligibility confirmation, application guidance, and related consultations, residents can call the Dasan Call Foundation or the local waterworks office in their area. Assigned staff will visit each home to check the condition of the water pipes, determine eligibility, and provide guidance on support procedures and construction costs if eligible.

The city also analyzed that the water quality improvement effect was significant after conducting water quality tests twice before and after pipe replacement for households that replaced their water pipes last year. Water quality tests conducted before and after pipe replacement for 1,212 households that received construction cost support last year showed a 63% improvement in turbidity, which measures the cloudiness of the water, indicating a very significant water quality improvement effect.

Lee Dae-hyun, head of the Seoul Waterworks Headquarters, said, “We plan to complete the old water pipe replacement support project by 2025 so that clean tap water produced at the water purification plant can be supplied directly to each household’s faucet.” He added, “We ask for the interest and participation of all citizens.”

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