A brand new survey revealed on Monday that 75 p.c of Seoul residents now drink the town’s faucet water, generally known as Arisu, with extra folks expressing belief in and satisfaction with its high quality.
The annual report by the Seoul Metropolitan Authorities, drawing on information from 1,000 adults, discovered that 75 p.c now drink Arisu faucet water — a file excessive, up 5.4 share factors from the earlier 12 months.
Throughout Korea’s breakneck industrialization within the Nineteen Seventies and ’80s, the nation’s faucet water was broadly thought to be unsafe, hobbled by getting old pipes, inadequate filtration and unchecked industrial runoff that fouled its rivers. The consequence was deep public distrust, and a nationwide behavior of boiling water earlier than consuming it, a precaution towards the sicknesses that many feared lurked in each glass.
The most recent findings counsel that Arisu is changing into firmly woven into day by day life. Among the many respondents, 56.3 p.c stated they drank faucet water at dwelling, whereas 18.7 p.c did so in public areas similar to parks, sports activities services and strolling trails.
The outcomes additionally confirmed a notable rise in satisfaction, with 79.9 p.c expressing total satisfaction with faucet water high quality, up from 77.4 p.c in 2024.
Extra particularly, the satisfaction price with water high quality climbed to 82.2 p.c from 78.2 p.c; the satisfaction price with utilizing the water for functions aside from consuming (similar to cooking and cleansing) rose to 94.2 p.c from 93.7 p.c.
This April 2022 picture offered by Seoul Metropolitan Authorities exhibits the water purification heart in japanese Seoul.
Officers attribute the constructive pattern to the town’s rigorous water high quality administration. Arisu, drawing from the Han River, undergoes a number of the world’s strictest testing requirements, with water checked for 350 totally different substances ― far surpassing each nationwide and World Well being Group necessities. This complete testing consists of screening for heavy metals like lead and arsenic, natural matter, disinfectant byproducts, pathogens and different potential contaminants.
Measured by different nations’ requirements, the faucet water consuming price is even larger in Seoul. For instance, the U.S. defines faucet water drinkers as those that report frequently consuming faucet water of their day by day lives, whatever the quantity, versus those that say they by no means drink it in any respect. By that customary, Seoul’s faucet water consuming price stands at 80.8 p.c, surpassing the U.S. common of 65 p.c.
Greater than 70 p.c of Seoul residents referred to as Arisu “world-class,” and almost 80 p.c noticed it as a civic asset that deserves safety.
But the town authorities acknowledges there may be extra work to be achieved. Amongst those that keep away from consuming Arisu, issues about outdated residential pipes (cited by 71 p.c) and lingering doubts over filtration or security (44.5 p.c) stay obstacles. This highlights the continued want for infrastructure enhancements. Since 2007, metropolis officers have been actively changing outdated pipes ― focusing on greater than 565,000 households ― in an effort to dispel such worries. To this point, 94 p.c of the work has been accomplished.
“This 12 months’s outcomes present that greater than seven out of 10 Seoul residents now think about faucet water a day by day beverage and belief its high quality,” stated Lee Hoe-seung, head of Seoul Water, which oversees Arisu. “On the muse of the brand new ‘Seoul customary,’ we’ll proceed strengthening scientific water high quality administration, increasing info transparency and enhancing infrastructure, so all residents can confidently drink faucet water, wherever they’re.”
Official surveys classify water air purifier use as a separate class, although most individuals in the end see purified water as faucet water in one other kind. Lingering issues over the state of municipal pipes have turned purifiers right into a staple of Korean households, now current in about half of all houses.
Breaking from the Ministry of Setting’s narrower customary, which measured solely at-home consumption, Seoul launched a brand new “Seoul-style” metric — one that features faucet water consumption each inside and out of doors the house — after consulting specialists, to extra precisely seize on a regular basis use.
