Seoul Tap Water Passes Quality Tests for 171 Items... All Meet Drinking Water Quality Standards

Safety Confirmed in Water Quality Tests from Hangang Source to Our Home Faucet
Water Quality Test Results and Tap Water Information Released in the '2020 Arisu Quality Report' on Website

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Seoul's tap water Arisu has been confirmed to meet all the "drinking water quality standards."

According to the "2020 Arisu Quality Report" published in June by the Seoul Waterworks Authority on the 23rd, the detailed water quality inspection results of Arisu by the Seoul Water Institute last year all met the drinking water standards. Seoul Arisu conducts detailed water quality inspections on 171 items, which is more than the 164 items recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) for tap water testing.

According to the monthly raw water quality inspection results conducted last year, the water quality of the intake source located in the main stream of the Han River from Paldang Dam to Jamsil Underwater Weir was rated as "Good (Ⅰb)".

The quality of purified water was also found to be safe. Monthly water quality inspections at 450 tap points throughout Seoul and quarterly inspections at 70 points during the tap water supply process all met the drinking water quality standards. Detailed inspections of tap water quality at each household showed no detection of pathogenic microorganisms, nor any of the nine harmful inorganic substances such as lead, arsenic, and cadmium, or the 15 harmful organic substances including phenol and benzene.

Seoul City produced the "2020 Arisu Quality Report," which contains these water quality inspection results and tap water policy information, as an e-book and made it available on the Seoul Waterworks Authority website. The "2020 Arisu Quality Report" provides information on raw water, purification centers, water quality by autonomous districts, and useful policies and information related to tap water for citizens.

Along with transparent water quality disclosure, Seoul plans to secure trust in tap water by operating the free water quality inspection service called the "Arisu Quality Confirmation System."

Kim Tae-gyun, head of the Seoul Waterworks Authority, said, "Seoul's tap water Arisu is safely managed from raw water to purified water," and added, "We will actively provide related information to dispel citizens' vague distrust of tap water."