The Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment announced that the "Partial Amendment to the Water Supply Act Enforcement Decree" was approved at the Cabinet meeting on June 2 and will take effect on June 10.
The core of this amendment is to broaden the range of new technology products applicable to general and dedicated water supply installations, including metropolitan and local water supply systems. Previously limited to technologies recognized under the Industrial Technology Innovation Promotion Act, the scope will now include new technologies certified in the fields of environment, construction, and disaster safety. Additionally, the criteria for staffing water treatment facility managers have been adjusted to reflect changes in operational conditions and work environments.
This move comes as digital transformation and the establishment of smart infrastructure have emerged as key tasks in the water management sector. With rapid advancements in technologies such as AI-based water quality prediction, smart network management, and real-time leak detection, there is a growing demand to integrate new technologies into existing water infrastructure.
In response, the government has expanded the range of new technology products that can be applied to water facilities. Previously, only products certified as new technologies in the industrial sector could be used in water facilities. Now, technologies certified in the fields of environment, construction, and disaster safety will also be permitted, laying the groundwork for the dissemination of various new technologies needed at water facility sites.
The staffing criteria for water treatment facility managers will be rationalized. To operate and manage water treatment plants efficiently, the government has been assigning managers based on the scale of the facilities. Under current law, for plants with a capacity of 100,000 to 500,000 tons per day, at least one first-class manager, three second-class managers, and four third-class managers must be assigned. This will be refined to create a new category for facilities with a capacity of 100,000 to 250,000 tons per day, reducing the requirement for second-class managers from three to two.
Furthermore, for small water treatment plants with a capacity of 20,000 to 100,000 tons per day that only disinfect without filtration or use slow filtration methods, the staffing criteria will be rationalized. For plants with a capacity of 20,000 to 30,000 tons, the requirement will be one first-class manager, one second-class manager, and one third-class manager. For those with a capacity of 50,000 to 100,000 tons, the requirement will be one first-class manager, one second-class manager, and two third-class managers, thereby reducing the operational burden on local management agencies.
Kim Ji-young, Director of Water Use Policy at the Ministry of Climate, stated, "Through this amendment to the enforcement decree, excellent new technology products will be actively introduced in water facilities, ensuring that the public receives safe and clean water. We expect that the rational adjustment of staffing criteria for water treatment facility managers, considering the conditions on-site, will further enhance the effectiveness of facility operations."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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