Formation of Special Investigation Committee, Full-Scale Investigation Begins from the 10th
[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Song Jong-gu] Larvae have appeared at the Seokdong Water Purification Plant operated by Changwon Special City in Gyeongnam, prompting citizens to exercise special caution.
The city announced on the 9th that it has swiftly completed seven emergency measures according to the larvae occurrence manual, including chlorine injection to increase the inactivation rate of larvae and cleaning of the filtration and sedimentation basins, in response to the larvae suspected to be chironomid larvae at the Jinhae Seokdong Water Purification Plant.
In particular, the city held two emergency response meetings with the Nakdong River Basin Environmental Office and Korea Water Resources Corporation, deciding to conduct investigations of the filtration layers and supply pipelines by selecting monitoring points for tap water.
Accordingly, the city is conducting monitoring across all areas supplied by the Seokdong Water Purification Plant, except for Jinhae Yongwon, to check whether larvae have flowed into households, including additional backwashing of rapid filtration basins (14 sites).
On the morning of the 9th, the city conducted tap water monitoring tests at 10 locations, including Jinhae Library, administrative welfare centers, and police stations.
As a result, larvae were detected at one location, bringing the total number of larvae detections to three, including two cases reported on the 8th.
In the afternoon, tests were conducted at 33 locations within Jinhae-gu, including the 10 sites tested in the morning, and the results are currently pending.
The city plans to conduct monitoring twice daily at 33 locations going forward, and will continuously inform citizens of the results through its website and social media.
Following the larvae outbreak, the city temporarily closed the water playground at Ancheong Park in Jinhae, which uses tap water from the Seokdong Water Purification Plant, starting from the 9th as a precautionary measure.
Additionally, the city advised frontline schools, kindergartens, daycare centers, public institutions, and companies on food processing precautions, recommending the use of purified or boiled water during cooking.
To promptly inform citizens about the larvae outbreak and response measures, the city has produced a card news (Q&A) and is providing guidance through the city website and social media.
To minimize inconvenience to citizens, the Jinhae Water Supply Center began operating a 24-hour emergency water supply response team starting on the 9th.
The city formed a special investigation committee chaired by Deputy Mayor Je 1 of Changwon Special City, including representatives from the Changwon Water Life Citizens’ Coalition (Im Hee-ja), Machangjin Environmental Movement Federation (Baek Ho-kyung, Secretary General), Changwon University’s Department of Health and Medical Science (Professor Baek Do-hyun), Dongjin Life Research Institute (CEO Lee Chang-heup), Nakdong River Basin Environmental Office (Yoon Hyun-sik, Head of Water Source Management Division), and Korea Water Resources Corporation (Kim Jae-heung, Manager of Water Supply Support Center), comprising government officials, environmental groups, and experts.
They will hold their first meeting on the 10th to investigate the cause of the larvae outbreak and re-examine the entire water supply system throughout Changwon to develop improvement plans and begin full-scale activities.
Deputy Mayor Je said, “Changwon City apologizes to citizens for the worry and inconvenience caused by the tap water closely linked to their daily lives and for the delayed dissemination of information about the larvae outbreak. We will mobilize all administrative resources to restore normal tap water supply as quickly as possible so that citizens can use tap water with confidence.”
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
