Hong Taeyong, Mayor of Gimhae, Inspects Water Source: "Thorough Preparation Against Algae and Non-biting Midges"

Hong Taeyong, the mayor of Gimhae, Gyeongnam, conducted an inspection to ensure the safety of the city's drinking water sources.

On the 31st, the city announced that Mayor Hong inspected the riverbank filtration facilities at Ddanseom in Masari, Saengnim-myeon, and the area around the Changam water intake source along the Nakdong River, in preparation for a possible algae alert expected in early June due to abnormal high temperatures in spring.

According to the city, Mayor Hong focused on identifying the current status of algae occurrence in the Nakdong River water source, confirming the stability of the water source, and checking response measures.

He requested, "Please do your utmost to manage the water intake and purification plants so that, by proactively responding to summer algae and Chironomidae larvae outbreaks, high-quality tap water that citizens can trust and drink can be produced stably."

Hong Taeyong, mayor of Gimhae City, Gyeongnam, is sitting on a boat, scooping and examining water from the Nakdong River. Photo by Gimhae City Hall

To manage drinking water sources during the summer, Gimhae City is operating various measures, including: ▲strengthening real-time monitoring and water quality testing of raw water ▲setting and managing internal purification water quality targets stricter than legal standards ▲adding powdered activated carbon when trace hazardous substances are detected or an algae alert is issued ▲enhancing water quality management and purification treatment according to the stage of algae and larvae outbreaks.

When an algae alert is issued, the city increases the proportion of riverbank filtration water?which is not affected by floating algae in the Nakdong River?in the intake process, and has established a hybrid water intake operation system to flexibly respond to changes in raw water quality and ensure a stable supply of raw water.

The city explained that, based on water quality analyses of tap water over the past three years, neither geosmin (which causes an earthy smell), 2-MIB (which causes a musty odor), nor six types of microcystins (algal toxins) were detected, and all were removed during the advanced purification process.

The city added that, according to the joint inspection of water purification plants for algae response and hygiene management conducted by the Ministry of Environment on May 23, no larvae were found in any purification process, and the facilities for blocking larvae habitats and the hygiene management status of each facility were also rated as excellent.

A city official stated, "This year, temperatures are expected to be similar to or higher than average, and precipitation is expected to be similar to or greater than average. Due to frequent rainfall, the concentration of nutrients is expected to rise as more pollutants flow into the watershed, so we anticipate an algae alert at the attention stage will be issued in June, and we will prepare accordingly."

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