▲ A walking path along the Miryang River in Miryang, Gyeongsangnam-do, on the 27th of last month when a severe heat wave warning was issued.
As scorching heat waves hovering around 40°C continue day after day in Gyeongsangnam-do, the temperature of tap water supplied to households is rising as well.
A resident living in Seongsan-gu, Changwon, shared that they recently noticed the tap water had become noticeably lukewarm.
A few days ago in the evening, while turning on the kitchen sink faucet to wash tomatoes, the water felt uncomfortably lukewarm, prompting them to mix in cold water from a water purifier to rinse the vegetables, the resident explained.
Recently, accounts have been posted one after another on Threads complaining that even when turning on the cold water, it feels lukewarm unlike usual.
Two days ago, a post was published saying, "While doing the dishes in Changwon, I turned the handle all the way to the cold side, but warm water kept coming out."
Comments poured in on this post, such as "I thought it was only my house," "It was too hot while taking a hot shower so I turned it to the cold side, but warm water kept coming out," and "I have to wash vegetables with water from the purifier."
Today (the 3rd), in some cities and counties in Gyeongsangnam-do, including Changwon, which use river water such as the Nakdong River as their raw water source, the temperature of tap water being supplied after intake and purification is rising due to the actual impact of the heat wave heating up the river water.
Except for riverbank-filtered water (a method of taking in river water filtered beneath the sandy layer of a stream rather than the river surface), the temperature of the water produced at the Changwon water treatment plant, which uses Nakdong River water as its raw water, reached around 32°C as of the end of last month.
The water temperature, which was around 9°C in March at the beginning of spring, has surged significantly due to the heat wave.
This situation is reportedly similar in some cities and counties within the province that draw and use surface water from rivers amid the heat wave.
As the heat wave heats up the river water, the raw water temperature itself rises, and during the purification process, the water is exposed to sunlight while staying in outdoor sedimentation basins, causing the temperature to rise even further.
During the tap water supply process, the temperature can increase further due to geothermal heat as the water flows through underground pipes.
An official from Changwon City stated, "The temperature of tap water is heavily influenced by air temperature, so it varies somewhat by season," while adding, "As this year's heat wave is unusually severe, the water temperature seems to have risen much higher than usual."
The official explained, "Since there are no regulations regarding water temperature—which is not a water quality item subject to strict legal management—there are no technical cooling devices at the water treatment plants."
An official from Gyeongsangnam-do also said, "Generally speaking, because the air temperature is high during the summer, people in some cities and counties do mention that the water feels lukewarm," adding, "Once tap water leaves the water treatment plant, it is stored in reservoirs before heading to individual homes, and the temperature can rise during this process in the summer."
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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