South Korea makes all-out efforts to supply water to drought-hit region

Seoul, Sep 7 (IANS) All-out efforts have been underway on Sunday to supply water to South Korea's drought-hit eastern coastal city of Gangneung, officials said, as it struggles with worsening water shortages.

Helicopters, fire trucks and a Navy vessel were set to be dispatched to supply 29,793 tons of water to Obong Reservoir, the city's main water source, and the Hongje water purification plant for the day, according to city and Gangwon Province officials.

The government declared Gangneung's drought a state of disaster on August 30 after the water storage level of the reservoir, which supplies household water to 180,000 Gangneung residents, fell to a record low of 15.7 per cent, reports Yonhap news agency.

Despite efforts to replenish the supply, the reservoir has experienced declining water levels, reaching 12.6 per cent as of 11 a.m. on Sunday, down 0.3 percentage points from the previous day.

Officials said around 400 military vehicles, two Coast Guard and Navy vessels, five Army helicopters and dozens of other civilian equipment will be dispatched Sunday as part of efforts to supply water to the city.

On Saturday, the city began limiting the supply of water to major water users that operate water tanks of over 100 tons, including 113 residential complexes of some 45,000 households and 10 large-scale accommodation facilities.

The city plans to deliver water using water trucks once its water tanks run out.

If the reservoir's water level falls below 10 per cent, the city plans to take further water conservation measures for the Hongje plant, which covers 53,483 water meters.

Under the first stage of the plan, water will be restricted from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., and every other day in the next stage.

--IANS

int/sd/