In South Korea, the City of Seoul Water Works (SWW) has conducted a customer tap water
quality certification program since November 2001. The program is part of its
water quality management system to enhance reliability and meet customer
satisfaction of its municipal drinking water supply. Under this program more than
50,000 drinking water taps are checked each year. A total of 404,747 taps have been
covered by SWW since 2001. The targeted sites include apartment complexes, schools,
households, public parks, and shopping malls. In addition to SWW employees, the
customer tap water quality certification team consists of representatives from
environmental or citizen groups.
While SWW's finished water meets the national water quality standards set forth by the
Korea Ministry of Environment, it is well documented that city water can deteriorate
upon standing in customers' water storage systems that have not been properly
maintained. Many residential and commercial facilities in the city have indoor water
storage systems. At each targeted site the team collects a cold water sample from a
faucet and examines the conditions and integrity of the water pipes and storage
systems.
Each water sample is tested on-site for five parameters including chlorine residual. If
the water meets the national drinking water quality standards, the team issues and
attaches a water quality certificate to the faucet. If it does not meet the standards, the
following secondary parameters including E. coli are tested back in the laboratory. If
the team finds inadequate plumbing or poor sanitary conditions that could create water
quality problems, they provide guidance to the occupant to correct the problems and
keep a record of the conditions of the site until the problems are solved. If depletion of
the residual chlorine occurs due to excessive water age by detention in a storage tank
maintained in a home or business, the team recommends that the customer's water be
supplied directly from public mains. Replacement or rehabilitation of a residence's
plumbing is also suggested if the piping is severely deteriorated. The Customer Tap Water Quality Certification
(CTWQC) teams have identified customers' needs; customers not only want to know
about their tap water quality but also realize the importance of maintaining their water
storage systems for water quality protection. The CTWQC program has contributed to
the enhancement of customer confidence and satisfaction on tap water quality and the
formation of partnerships with customers and environmental and citizen groups. Includes 3 references, tables, figures.
| Edition : | Vol. - No. |
| Number of Pages : | 37 |
| Published : | 06/01/2007 |
