Seoul Waterworks, Implementing 'Comprehensive Measures' Including 24-Hour Situation Room During Seol Holiday

Announcement of Comprehensive Lunar New Year Measures in 4 Sectors

[Asia Economy Reporter Kiho Sung] The Seoul Metropolitan Waterworks Authority announced on the 18th that it has completed safety inspections of water supply facilities in advance and will operate a 24-hour comprehensive situation room during the Lunar New Year holiday to ensure that citizens do not experience inconvenience in using tap water due to water outages or pipe freezing.

In particular, from the 20th, a total of 111 hours of the Lunar New Year comprehensive situation room will be operated over six days, implementing the ‘2023 Lunar New Year Waterworks Comprehensive Measures’ covering four areas. Especially, as a severe cold wave with temperatures below minus 10 degrees Celsius is expected to continue for two consecutive days on the last day of the Lunar New Year holiday and the following days, from the 24th to the 25th, a pipe freezing countermeasure situation room will also be operated to enable rapid recovery from pipe freezing and freezing damage.

First, the waterworks Lunar New Year comprehensive situation room will operate 24 hours a day. From 6 p.m. on the 20th to 9 a.m. on the 25th, a total of 111 hours, it plans to respond promptly to emergencies such as leaks and water outages and to complaints during the holiday period.

Second, to prepare for sudden leaks and water outages, an emergency leak repair and emergency water supply support system will be maintained. Efforts will be made to ensure a stable supply of safe tap water 24 hours a day without water outages even during the Lunar New Year holiday.

Third, pre-safety inspections of water supply facilities to prevent safety accidents have been completed. By January 6, inspection teams were organized by sector to conduct pre-inspections of a total of 398 water supply facilities, including 4 intake stations, 6 water purification centers, reservoirs, booster stations, and exposed water pipes, confirming the safety of the facilities.

Lastly, if the ‘pipe freezing alert’ stage (the third stage among interest-caution-alert-critical) is issued during the holiday period, the pipe freezing countermeasure situation room will also operate 24 hours a day. Personnel will be organized into two shifts per day at the headquarters and eight waterworks offices to assist in receiving and processing pipe freezing reports, minimizing citizen inconvenience caused by pipe freezing.

Households are advised to recheck the insulation of water meter boxes before the holiday and, during the cold wave period, if leaving the house for an extended time, to keep the tap water running slightly to prevent water from stagnating inside the meter and thus prevent pipe freezing.

If pipe freezing is suspected, such as when the glass part of the water meter is broken or swollen, reports can be made through the Seoul Waterworks customer consultation chatbot ‘ArisuTalk’, the Dasan Call Foundation, or the relevant waterworks office.

Youn Yeonsik, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Waterworks Authority, said, “We will focus on maintaining a 24-hour safe tap water supply system even during the Lunar New Year holiday,” adding, “Since pipe freezing of water meters is a concern due to the forecasted cold wave during the holiday, we ask for cooperation in preventing pipe freezing by keeping the tap water running slightly when leaving the house for a long time.”