Wando-gun Lifts 'Water Supply Restrictions' During Seollal Holiday Period

Accelerating the Promotion of Subsea Pipeline Installation Projects and More

[Wando＝Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Choi Kyung-pil] Wando-gun, Jeollanam-do, is experiencing the worst drought since weather observations began, with the annual rainfall in 2022 recorded at 765mm, about 53% of the average 1425mm, and is making an all-out effort for emergency water supply.

According to the county on the 18th, the current reservoir water level rate of all 10 water sources in Wando-gun is 23.4%.

In the case of Neopdo, Nohwa-eup, water supply has been cut off since August last year, and restricted water supply has been implemented in Soan-myeon, Geumil-eup, Nohwa-eup, and Bogil-myeon.

An emergency water supply is being transported using a water tanker.
[Photo by Wando-gun]

However, to ensure that residents and visitors can spend the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday without inconvenience, the restricted water supply will be lifted from the 21st to the 24th.

Currently, the county is deploying 4 steel barges and 30 water trucks to 6 water sources with insufficient water volume, transporting 2,000 tons of emergency water daily to replenish the water supply.

To secure reservoir capacity, in 2022, the first dredging was completed at two water sources (Buhwangje, Mira Reservoir), securing 26,000 tons, and additional dredging is planned for four water sources (Yonghangje, Cheokchije, Haedongje, Mira Reservoir) in January to secure about 4,200 tons of raw water.

Additionally, the county is accelerating the installation of an undersea pipeline to advance the supply of metropolitan waterworks to alleviate the severe water shortage suffered annually by residents of Nohwa and Bogil.

The undersea pipeline installation project will invest a total of 67.8 billion KRW, with detailed design planned for this year, installing a total pipeline length of 31.1 km, including 21.9 km on land and 9.2 km undersea.

Once the undersea pipeline is installed, it is expected to solve the water shortage problems of residents in Nohwa, Bogil, Neopdo, Baegildo, Heugildo, and Masakdo.

A county official said, “During the drought response site visit by the Minister of Environment on the 11th, we requested national funding support of 107.8 billion KRW out of the total 154.1 billion KRW for the metropolitan waterworks installation projects in the Nohwa-Bogil and Yaksan-Geumil areas,” adding, “We will make every effort to establish long-term and fundamental measures such as metropolitan water supply.”

Furthermore, the county is implementing a phased response strategy to resolve water shortages caused by prolonged drought.

Phase 1 involves continuously replenishing water to the reservoirs by pumping from nearby streams and wells around the water sources and using tank lorries.

Phase 2 will extend the water cut-off period from 2 days supply and 4 days cut-off to 2 days supply and 7 days cut-off when the supplyable days per reservoir fall below 30 days. Additionally, 5 to 10-ton water tanks will be installed at village units to collect water from nearby wells and springs, allowing villages to independently secure daily water supply and increase the number of supplyable days.

Phase 3, in the worst case of reservoir depletion, plans to mobilize large steel barges to supply minimal daily water from the metropolitan water network in Wando-eup to the island areas.

Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Choi Kyung-pil ckp6737@asiae.co.kr

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