Consignment Management Status of Local Water Services

36% (85,000 km) of the water pipes in Korea are more than 20 years old, causing 670 million ㎥ of tap water leakages, equivalent to 36 days of water supply for the entire nation or an economic loss of 691.7 billion Korean won.

In order to prevent such losses and effectively use water resources, K-water has gradually consigned and operated local water services for 23 localities since 2004. Through these efforts, K-water has built a network management system, improved aged facilities, and increased the water flow rate from 60.1% before the consignments to 85.1%. Since the implementation of the consignments, the water supply population increased to 2.56 million, an increase of 800,000 residents. As well, the customer satisfaction rate increased to 84.16%, up 17.87%.

• Gyeonggi-do (4): Paju, Yangju, Dongducheon, Gwangju
• Chungcheong-do (5): Seosan, Cheonan (Gong), Danyang, Nonsan, Geumsan
• Jeolla-do (6) : Jeongeup, Hampyeong, Naju, Jangheung, Jindo, Wando
• Gyeongsang-do (8): Yecheon, Bonghwa, Cheongsong, Goryeong, Sacheon, Goseong, Tongyeong, Geoje

• Replacement of Old Facilities: Water Pipes and Water Treatment Facilities
• Improvement of the Water Flow Rate: Water Leakage Detection and Water Supply System Maintenance
• ICT-based Integrated Operations: Real-time Data Sharing and Real-time Data Sharing and Management of the Water Pipeline Network, Reservoirs, Water Intake Stations, and Water Treatment Plants
• Construction of a Block System: Systematic Adjustment of Water Supply Areas
• Modernization of Water Supply Facilities: Automated Facility Operation, such as Real-time Water Quantity and Quality Monitoring, Emergency Warnings, and Automated Chemical Injection, etc.
• One-stop Service: Integrated Information System (Service Charges, Customer Services, Facility Management), 24-hour Call Center, and Tap Water Assurance System, etc.

Operation and Effects

• Increase of Water Flow Rate
  • ① Combination of Smart Water Management Technologies
    Installation of Remote Leakage Detection Sensors  Leakage Detection Efficiency has Increased by 50% Since the Installation of Sensors
  • ② Timely Improvement of Aging Facilities
    797 Water Pressure Management Facilities in Total
    1,913kms of Aging Pipelines were Replaced
    562,762 Water Gauges have been Replaced
  • Total Water Leakages were Reduced by 1.3 Million ㎥ in 2023
    Total Leakages have been Reduced by 1.49 billion ㎥ Since Consignment
    [Improved Flow Rate]
• Cost Reduction
  • Decrease in Lost Revenue from Leakages (3.4 billion Korean won/year)
    Leakage Losses Since the 2023 Flow Rate Improvement Process] Before (64.15 Billion KRW) -After (60.71 Billion KRW) – 3.44 Billion KRW
• Expansion of the Water Supply Services
  • Investment in Water Supply Facilities as a Result of Local Budget Savings
    Before Consignment: 1.76 Million People Currently: 2.56 Million, (Increase of 800,000 Residents)

Realization of Customer Satisfaction

• Analysis of Local (Water Supply) Customer Satisfaction Rates
  • Overall rate is higher compared with NCSI, but the rate is relatively stagnant with a slight decrease for two years in a row.
  • Customer Satisfaction Rate (Local Water Supply, Score) 2012 80.3점, 2013 80.4점, 2014 80.4점, 2015 80.7점, 2016, 81.0점 / NCSI (Score) 2012 73.3점, 2013 71.0점, 2014 72.0점, 2015 73.0점, 2016 75.0점
• Identification of Complaint Factors
  • Decrease in water meter readings - (Major cause) Insufficient guidance since the introduction of remote meter reading
  • Water quality degradation - (Major cause) Vague anxiety
  • Water Meter Reading / Water Quality / Tap Water Supply Management / Staff Member’s Work Handling / Overall Satisfaction

• Improvement Efforts
  • Introduction of mobile water bills
  • Introduction of voice messages (VMS): (text (SMS) + voice (VMS))
  • Putting up water outage banners
  • (Plan) Happy call survey on water outage satisfaction
  • Visitations and guides for unsatisfied customers
• Improvement Results (Score)
  • Achieved the highest customer satisfaction rate
  • Increased by 6.16 points compared to NCSI
  • Water meter readings increased by 4.04 points (year-on-year basis)
  • Water quality increased by 4.40 points (year-on-year basis)
  • Customer Satisfaction Rate / NCSI: National Customer Satisfaction Index / RCSI: K-water Regional Water System Customer Satisfaction Index

local water service modernization projects

K-water has successfully implemented 23 efficient water service operation projects and leakage reduction projects in the West Chungcheong region. It has also participated in ‘local water service modernization projects’ based on our experience, contributing to the successful implementation of the projects. The modernization projects aim to improve the water flow rate through the maintenance of aging water pipes and water treatment facilities and improve management capabilities through facility modernization in accordance with the Ministry of Environment’s policy since 2017. K-water has participated in 82 out of the Ministry’s 171 modernization projects by 2023 (total project budget of 2.6 trillion KRW).

The projects also aim to develop a water network that can be managed systematically, including the construction of a block system, the replacement of old water pipes and water pressure management, and complete projects that have started from 2017 to 2018.

* Performance evaluation score for 17 projects that started in 2017/2018 was 100%.(leakage reduction of 30.59㎥/year, management improvement 82.8 million KRW/year, carbon reduction of 7,556t CO₂/year) and Danyang Water Treatment Plant was completed