Meter Reader Who Noticed Sudden Surge in Water Usage Rescued Fallen Elderly Living Alone

Suspecting Unusual Surge in Water Usage During Remote Meter Reading
Sensing Emergency... Requests Help from Village Chief
Uiseong Mayor: "Quick Judgment Saved the Elderly Resident"

A water meter reader in Uiseong, Gyeongbuk, who suspected a sudden surge in water usage, saved a collapsed elderly person living alone through prompt action.

According to Uiseong-gun on the 20th, Choi Soon-yeon (47), a water meter reader, was monitoring water usage remotely using an Internet of Things (IoT) system at her home around 9 p.m. on the 16th, her day off. At that time, she detected a sudden increase in water usage at the home of an elderly person living alone in Sinheung-ri, Chunsan-myeon. An 88-year-old grandmother A lived alone there, and Choi had previously obtained her contact information during an on-site inspection.

Meter reader Choi Sun-yeon is monitoring water usage. Provided by Uiseong-gun

Considering it was late on a weekend, she called grandmother A around 9 a.m. the next day but could not reach her. Judging it to be an emergency, Choi immediately asked Kim Seok-ryong, the village chief of Sinheung-ri, for help. Chief Kim found grandmother A collapsed inside the house and reported it to 119. At that time, grandmother A was reportedly semi-conscious, blinking only her eyes. The increase in water usage was caused by the bathroom faucet inside the house not being turned off.

Grandmother A was transported to the hospital and diagnosed with malnutrition, but her health is now reported to have improved. Choi told Yonhap News, "The water was leaking an unbelievable amount," adding, "If it had continued like this, about 600 tons per month would have been used, resulting in a water bill of around 600,000 to 700,000 won. I thought something was wrong."

Since 2019, Uiseong-gun has been using an IoT-based remote water meter reading system to monitor water usage in real time. Kim Ju-su, the mayor of Uiseong-gun, said, "Thanks to the quick judgment of the meter reader and the help of the village chief, we were able to save the elderly person," and added, "We will use the remote meter reading system to identify welfare blind spots and build a more thorough social safety net."