Iksan City to Fully Expand Regional Water Supply System by 2027

"Supplying Safe Tap Water"

Iksan City in North Jeolla Province is beginning a full-scale transition to a tap water supply system that all citizens can trust and drink safely.

On July 2, the city announced at a regular briefing that it will expand the regional water supply system, aiming for citywide coverage by 2027.

Exterior view of Iksan City Hall. Provided by Iksan City

The 'full-scale expansion of the regional water supply system' is a decision made to replace aging water purification plants that are at risk of contamination, in order to provide cleaner and safer tap water in a stable manner.

Korea Water Resources Corporation, which has signed an agreement with Iksan City, will invest a total of 18 billion won from this year through next year to install water transmission pipelines in the following sections: Chunpo Junction to Sinheung Reservoir (800mm diameter, 2.9km) and Sinheung Reservoir to Geumgang Reservoir (600mm diameter, 2.3km).

In this regard, basic and detailed design services have been underway since February, and procedures such as project bidding and construction commencement are expected to proceed sequentially around February next year.

The city expects that, starting January 2027, the new water supply system based entirely on the regional water supply will begin operation. The core of this project is to install new water transmission pipelines and connect them to the existing Sinheung and Geumgang water purification plants.

Currently, Iksan uses both the regional water supply system (66.2%) and its own water purification facilities (33.8%), but once this project is completed, the supply of domestic water will be fully switched to the regional water supply system.

The Geumgang and Sinheung water purification plants, which are operated by the city, have consistently faced issues such as aging facilities and deterioration of raw water quality. In particular, the increased risk of water quality contamination from using open agricultural channels as a source of raw water is also a major reason for the transition to the regional water supply system.

To build public consensus, the city has conducted a multifaceted public discussion process, including four public hearings and city council meetings with citizens from 2016 to 2024, as well as gathering opinions from civic groups. The city also established a procedural foundation through the Ministry of Environment's approval of the basic waterworks maintenance plan in June 2022.

Nah Eunjeong, head of the Water Supply and Sewerage Project Division, said, "We will faithfully carry out the transition to the regional water supply system to establish a clean and safe tap water supply system that reflects citizens' opinions," adding, "We will do our utmost to minimize inconvenience to citizens and ensure a stable water supply through continuous communication and consultation."

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