More Rural Areas to Have Water Supply System
By Bae Ji-sook
Staff Reporter
The government plans to improve water supply and drainage systems in rural areas and put more effort into effective rainwater management.
The Ministry of Environment announced that only 35.8 percent of buildings or facilities in rural districts had sewage systems in 2005, but the plan will jack up the ratio to 75 percent by 2015. Compared to the 83.5 percent installation rate in the cities, the comparable ratio for rural areas was poor, showing a lack of infrastructure for water safety, a ministry spokesman said.
In the plan the government will also manage rainwater drainage to improve land irrigation and prevent possible flood damage in the rainy season.
It will also enhance the use of recycled sewage. ``Though it has been proven safe, there is public prejudice that filtered and sterilized sewage water is dirty and management plants are often labeled as `hate facilities','' the spokesman said.
The government plans to spend 27.4 trillion won on the eight-year water management project.