Seoul to Inspect Water Supply Pipes Over 30 Years Old... 111 km to Be Replaced This Year

Managing 3,074 Kilometers of Long-Term Use Water Pipes
Continuous Preventive Maintenance Since 2020
Selection Based on Years Since Installation and Leakage History
Securing Additional Funding and Strengthening On-Site Management

On July 13, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that it would launch a maintenance project for water supply pipes that have been in use for more than 30 years. This initiative aims to ensure public safety and a stable supply of tap water. The maintenance target for this year is 111 kilometers, a 22% increase compared to last year.

The city classifies water supply pipes that have been buried for over 30 years as “long-term use pipes” due to concerns over water turbidity, leakage, and ground vulnerability. In particular, the city is prioritizing and sequentially maintaining these pipes through data analysis that evaluates their level of deterioration and leakage history. From 2020 to the present, 364 kilometers have been maintained, with approximately 2,710 kilometers remaining.

View of the sedimentation basin at Arisu Water Purification Center in Seongdong-gu, Seoul. The Asia Business Daily

The targets for maintenance are selected based on a comprehensive evaluation combining a “deterioration assessment”—which considers years since installation, burial depth, and soil corrosiveness—and “data analysis” that includes leakage history over the last 20 years, proximity to major construction sites, and subway stations.

This year, the city plans to complete the maintenance of 111 kilometers of vulnerable pipelines, which were selected through preliminary procedures such as traffic management measures last year, by the end of the year. Currently, maintenance has been completed on 33.7 kilometers.

In addition, given that long-term use water pipes may lead to ground subsidence due to leakage, the city will invest KRW 727.1 billion by 2028 to focus on maintaining pipes that are vulnerable to leakage. According to the underground safety information system (JIS), data from the past five years show that ground subsidence caused by damaged water pipes accounts for 6.1% of all cases. However, to minimize potential risks, preventive maintenance has been continuously carried out since 2020.

Furthermore, due to the large budget required for the long-term use water pipe maintenance project, the city is also focusing on securing project funding, including seeking to have the project designated as eligible for national funding support in order to ensure smooth implementation.

Kwon Min, Director of the Seoul Arisu Headquarters, stated, "The water supply pipe maintenance project is not only essential for providing clean tap water reliably to citizens, but also a key infrastructure investment to protect public safety by preventing accidents such as ground subsidence. We will do our utmost to meet the annual maintenance targets without delay so that citizens can use Arisu water with greater peace of mind."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.