Gangneung City will implement restricted water supply for apartment complexes receiving water from Hongje Water Treatment Plant starting at 9 a.m. on the 6th. Until now, voluntary water-saving measures, such as locking household water meters, have been in place, but now the water supply itself will be restricted from the treatment plant.
Kim Hong-kyu, the mayor of Gangneung, held a press conference at the Gangneung City Hall disaster situation room on the 5th and noted, "The effectiveness of the water-saving measures we have implemented has been low, leading us to prioritize restricted water supply."
The areas subject to restricted water supply include 113 apartments near the Hongje Water Treatment Plant and 10 large lodging facilities. Gangneung City plans to collaborate with the fire authorities to supply water to the storage tanks of these facilities.
The Hongje Water Treatment Plant is a facility that purifies water from Obong Reservoir (storage capacity 14.32 million tons) which is a major drinking water source for Gangneung City. The partial restriction on water supply here is based on a judgment that the voluntary water-saving measures implemented until now have been ineffective.
Gangneung City entered restricted water supply on August 20th by locking 50% of water meters. Then, as of August 31st, it plans to increase this to 75%. Only one-fourth of the water supply capacity normally provided to households will be given.
This locking of meters is carried out by village heads visiting individual households to open the water meter boxes and lock the meter valves. Each household can unlock it again.
The water level in Obong Reservoir, which supplies 87% of Gangneung's domestic water, has fallen below 15%, which has long been regarded as the minimum threshold for drinking water supply. As of 8 a.m. that day, the water level in Obong Reservoir was 13.2% (the average is 71.4%).
The mayor said, "If the water level falls below 10%, we will have no choice but to expand restricted water supply to all facilities receiving water from Hongje Water Treatment Plant."
Gangneung City plans to implement more stringent restricted water supply measures if the water level falls below 10%. The first phase will involve time-restricted water supply from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. the next day, and if the situation worsens further, a second phase of alternating day restrictions is also planned.
The mayor stated, "I will adjust the timing of the restricted water supply implementation while monitoring the water level trends and water-saving effectiveness," and encouraged active participation in the water-saving campaign.