The government rolled out a set of measures on Tuesday to address the chronic water shortage in the southwestern region of the country, which has been exacerbated by climate change, officials said.
The Yeongsan River and Seomjin River basins in South Jeolla Province have experienced a prolonged drought that has affected the region’s water supply. In 2022, the province received only 60 percent of the previous year’s rainfall, marking the lowest precipitation levels in 50 years.
The Water Commission Support Department, a presidential panel on national water resources management, approved the anti-drought measures to provide an additional 61 tons of water per day to the two river basins. This will be achieved through a two-step approach.
The first step will secure an additional 45 tons of water per day through a variety of methods, including transferring water from a neighboring river dam that has a surplus by constructing a connection facility.
Another method includes constructing a new desalination facility capable of producing 15 tons of fresh water per day, and a water recycling facility capable of producing 5 tons of water per day.
The second step involves preparing for the worst-case drought scenario by providing an additional 16 tons of water per day by utilizing water reserved for emergency purposes, they said.
The government said its ultimate goal is to ensure a sustainable water supply in the affected regions by accurately estimating future water demand.
Source: Yonhap News Agency