Dongducheon-si Selected as ‘Best’ Local Government for Water Facility Operation Management 3 Years in a Row

Dongducheon City, Gyeonggi Province (Mayor Park Hyung-deok) announced on the 16th that it was selected as the 'Best Institution' nationwide in the '2024 General Waterworks Operation and Management Performance Evaluation' conducted by the Ministry of Environment, achieving the title of 'Best Institution' in water supply for the fourth time and the third consecutive year following 2020, 2022, and 2023.

Dongducheon City has been selected as the 'Best Institution' nationwide in the '2024 General Waterworks Operation and Management Performance Evaluation' conducted by the Ministry of Environment and received the 'Best Institution' award. Photo by Je Song, Dongducheon City

The General Waterworks Operation and Management Performance Evaluation has been conducted annually since 2000 to establish a competitive water supply system and improve the efficiency of operation and management.

Especially this year, 161 local governments were divided into five groups based on population size and scored on 29 indicators across three areas: common, operation management, and policy. They were then classified into four grades: Best, Excellent, Average, and Poor.

Dongducheon City, with a population of 91,000 including foreigners, was assigned to Group Ⅲ (population 50,000 to 200,000) and competed with 38 other local governments. Based on the first document evaluation, it ranked in the top 10% along with Gwacheon City, Jincheon County, and Yangpyeong County.

After the second evaluation by the Evaluation Review Committee, it was finally selected as the 'Best' water supply operating local government.

The Evaluation Review Committee particularly recognized the local government's efforts to expand supply to water-vulnerable areas, the abolition of small-scale facilities, and various promotional activities supporting the improvement of water supply pipes in aging houses as outstanding achievements.

Additionally, the Dongducheon Water Purification Plant has established a management system for supplying safe tap water at the level of food manufacturing through ISO 22000 certification, an international standard for food safety management, and the promotion of water purification plant modernization projects.

Oh Hyung-sik, Director of the Environmental Business Office, stated, "The certification of 'Best' water facilities for three consecutive years demonstrates the safety of Dongducheon's tap water and is expected to further enhance citizens' trust. We will continue to strive to ensure that citizens can use clean water with confidence."