South Korea is pulling out all the stops to tackle a severe water crisis in the coastal city of Gangneung. Officials are in a race against time to supply water to the drought-hit region, using everything from helicopters to navy ships.
The massive operation on Sunday aimed to deliver nearly 30,000 tons of water. This emergency supply is headed for the city’s main water source, the critically low Obong Reservoir, and the Hongje water purification plant.
The situation became so dire that the government officially declared the Gangneung drought a “state of disaster” on August 30th. The water level in the reservoir, which provides household water for 180,000 residents, had plummeted to a record low of just 15.7%. Despite all efforts, the crisis is worsening. As of Sunday morning, the water level had dropped further to a frightening 12.6%.
To combat this, a huge fleet of resources was deployed. Officials confirmed that approximately 400 military vehicles, two coast guard and navy vessels, five army helicopters, and dozens of pieces of civilian equipment were all part of the emergency water supply mission.
The city has also been forced to take tough measures. Starting Saturday, it began limiting water to major users. This restriction affects 113 large residential complexes with about 45,000 households, as well as 10 big accommodation facilities. The city has plans to send in water trucks to these locations once their tanks run dry.
Officials have a staged plan ready if the reservoir dips below the 10% threshold. The first step would be to cut off water every night from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. If the drought continues, the next stage would see water supply restricted every other day, a move that would impact over 53,000 water meters.
