Seoul to Renovate 111km of Aging Water Pipes This Year, Up 22% From Last Year

The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that it will carry out maintenance on 111km of long-term used water pipes this year, a 22% increase in length compared to last year.

The city has been classifying water pipes as long-term used pipes once they have been in service for over 30 years. It has been conducting sequential maintenance by determining priorities based on aging assessments and leakage history.

Since 2020, 364km of pipes have been renovated, and approximately 2,710km of water pipes remain as targets for future maintenance.

The target for this year is 111km, selected after completing preliminary procedures such as traffic management plans, which is about 20km longer than the 91km renovated last year.

Maintenance has already been completed on 33.7km of the target pipes for this year.

Furthermore, as there are concerns that leaks in long-term used water pipes could lead to ground subsidence, the city plans to invest 727.1 billion won by 2028 to renovate water pipes that are vulnerable to leaks.

According to data from the Underground Safety Information System (JIS) over the past five years, ground subsidence caused by water pipe damage accounted for only 6.1% of the total, but the city has been promoting preventive maintenance since 2020.

Kwon Min, head of the Seoul Arisu Headquarters, said, "The water pipe maintenance project is a key infrastructure investment that not only ensures a stable supply of clean tap water to citizens but also protects public safety by preventing accidents such as ground subsidence." He added, "We will do our best to ensure that citizens can use Arisu with greater peace of mind by carrying out our annual maintenance goals without any setbacks."

(Photo courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Government, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.