The drought stage at Milyang Dam, a multipurpose dam on the Nakdong River, rose to "alert" on the 2nd. It is the second-highest of the four stages—interest, caution, alert, and severe. Milyang Dam supplies water not only to Milyang but also to Yangsan and Changnyeong in South Gyeongsang, where the heat wave is extreme.
As of 9 a.m. that day, Milyang Dam's storage rate was 33.3%, with stored water at 24.5 million tons, about half the usual level. With the stage raised, the government decided to replace about 8,000 tons of the daily 127,000 tons of domestic and industrial water sent to Milyang and Yangsan with water from the Milyang River and Nakdong River.
Agricultural water, already reduced from 91,000 tons per day to 67,000 tons, could be cut off entirely depending on rainfall and downstream conditions. The suspension of river maintenance flow will continue. The government said that with these measures, there should be no problems with water supply within the year even if the drought worsens.
The Yeongnam region as a whole is suffering from drought along with a heat wave. In the Nakdong River basin, Andong-Imha Dam and Seongdeok Dam are at the "caution" stage, while among water-supply dams, Unmun Dam is at "severe" and Yeongcheon Dam is at "caution." This year, rainfall in the Milyang Dam basin is 447 millimeters, 52% of the usual level, and since the flood season began on the 21st of last month it has reached only 50 millimeters, just 12% of normal. In Busan, Ulsan, and South Gyeongsang, cumulative rainfall in June–July was 161.9 millimeters, or 32.7% of the average (487.4 millimeters), the second-lowest since the observation network was expanded in 1973.
Conditions are similar in Honam. The drought stage at Pyeongnim Dam, which supplies water to Yeonggwang and Damyang in South Jeolla and Gwangju, was also raised to "caution" that day. Accordingly, river maintenance flow (4,000 tons per day) will be suspended to the maximum extent, and agricultural water will be reduced by up to 4,000 tons. Seomjingang Dam has also entered the "interest" stage. June–July rainfall reached only 66.4% of normal in South Jeolla and Gwangju, and 59.8% in North Jeolla.