Busan City Holds 2nd Meeting of Expert Council for Safe Tap Water Supply

At 10 AM on the 8th, Economic Vice Mayor Lee Seong-gwon presides over a meeting with related experts

Sharing key issues on drinking water and focusing on improvement plans for aging water purification plants

On the 8th at 10 a.m., Busan City held the 2nd meeting of the ‘Expert Council for Safe Tap Water Supply’ at Hwamyung Water Purification Plant.

The ‘Expert Council for Safe Tap Water Supply’ was formed in response to the tap water odor incident that occurred in June, to discuss the maintenance of aging water purification plants and measures to address algal blooms with experts, aiming to provide clean and safe tap water.

The first meeting was held on June 30th, where the occurrence and response status of algal blooms and maintenance plans for Busan’s water purification plants were discussed.

In this meeting, key issues related to drinking water were shared, including ▲response to algal bloom occurrence ▲construction of Busan and Yangsan regional metropolitan waterworks ▲diversification project of Nakdong River water intake sources ▲improvement of ozone treatment facilities at Hwamyung Water Purification Plant. The main focus was on discussing improvement plans for Busan’s aging water purification plants, which have been in operation for over 40 years.

The meeting was chaired by Lee Seong-gwon, Deputy Mayor for Economic Affairs, and attended by Lee Geun-hee, Director of the City’s Environmental Water Policy Office, related experts, and citizen representatives.

Following the meeting, participants moved to the Mulgeum Water Intake Plant, Busan’s water intake source, to inspect the algal bloom situation and the water intake tower and other tap water intake and treatment processes. The city noted that holding the meeting at Hwamyung Water Purification Plant and linking it with a field visit to Mulgeum Water Intake Plant allowed council members to accurately understand the site and thoroughly explore measures for algal bloom response and water purification plant improvements.

Deputy Mayor Lee Seong-gwon stated, “Since drinking water is directly related to citizens’ safety, through this 2nd Expert Council meeting, we will deeply discuss rapid response to algal bloom occurrence and improvement plans for aging water purification plants to continuously provide clean and safe water to our citizens.”