Jinhae-gu Civic Group Holds Press Conference in Front of City Hall
On the 13th, residents of Jinhae District held a press conference in front of Changwon City Hall in Gyeongnam regarding the occurrence of chironomid larvae at Seokdong Water Purification Plant. / Photo by Se-ryeong Lee ryeong@
[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Seryeong] Residents of Jinhae-gu, Changwon-si, Gyeongnam, once again condemned Changwon City's response to the occurrence of chironomid larvae at Seokdong Water Purification Plant.
Happiness Centered Jinhae Cooperative, Jinhae YWCA, Changwon Water Life Citizens' Solidarity, and others held a press conference in front of Changwon City Hall on the afternoon of the 13th.
They said, "We have been unknowingly drinking tap water contaminated with larvae for two days since the 7th," and added, "Even today, the sixth day, we feel uneasy and uncomfortable, but we have no choice but to use that water."
They continued, "Chironomids are indicator species of water pollution grade 4, mainly inhabiting polluted streams," and argued, "Larvae are openly coming out of the tap water, and telling people to boil the water is the same as telling them to eat the larvae cooked."
The groups referred to the 2020 Incheon tap water chironomid larvae incident, criticizing, "At that time, Incheon City advised refraining from drinking and to be as careful as possible when washing the face or showering, but our city is letting residents drink that water as is."
On this day, the groups demanded from Changwon City: ▲cleaning to remove larvae in all sections from the purification plant to the faucet ▲suspension of supply of larvae-contaminated tap water ▲provision of emergency water supply ▲installation of larvae blocking barriers in transmission pipelines connecting the purification plant to the outside ▲response to larvae inspection requests in tap water ▲improvement of tap water accident response manuals ▲formation of a private organization for integrated tap water management.
To the Ministry of Environment, they urged: ▲presentation of measures to improve Nakdong River water quality ▲acknowledgment of responsibility for source water pollution ▲consideration of exemption from water usage fees and raw water charges.
On the afternoon of the 13th, Changwon Special City, Gyeongnam, held a meeting with civic groups regarding the occurrence of chironomid larvae at Seokdong Water Purification Plant in Jinhae-gu. Photo by Se-ryeong Lee ryeong@
Immediately after the press conference, they met with Deputy Mayor Ahn Kyung-won and delivered a related letter, and plan to attend a meeting prepared by the city to discuss response measures and future plans.
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