The Jeolla province in South Korea is currently facing a water crisis that affects more than 1 million people. The region, known for its pristine landscapes, has been ravaged by a drought for about four months now, causing water levels in its reservoirs to be less than half of their usual levels. For instance, the Dongbok Dam only received about 800mm of rain last year, which is approximately 60 per cent of what it got in 2021.
If the dry weather persists, the provincial capital, Gwangju, with about 1.4 million residents, could run out of water before June. The situation is worse in smaller towns and islands that depend on trucks to bring water. About 5,000 residents of Geumil-do, one of many islands surrounding Wando county in Jeolla province, rely on these trucks as their taps have run dry.
A total of eight trucks transport water three times a day from Jangheung dam on Tamjin River – one of three main rivers in the province – to Chukchi Reservoir in Geumil-do. Each truck can carry about 15,000 litres of water. Due to water rationing, residents can only access water through their taps twice a week. They have had to improvise, and blue water tanks sticking out from the rooftops of houses are now a common sight on the island.
USING WATER TANKS
Resident Jung Byung-jin stated that most houses have at least one water tank. She, a 75-year-old, keeps hers in a storage room outside her house.
On the two days when she receives water supply, she fills her tank up and the quantity can last a few days. She and her husband share that one water tank with two people next door, but the water is not enough for all of them, so she saves what she can.
“I also save water in the sink. We do the laundry when there’s tap water two times a week. So we keep our laundry until then,” Madam Jung said.
She expressed that this is her first time experiencing a water crisis of this scale in her life and worries about how long it will last. “Rain must come. We don’t know how long we can go on like this … I wonder if it will rain in springtime. We are just waiting for rain to drop. There’s no other solution.”