[The Hwankyung Ilbo] The Ministry of Environment released the 2018 water supply statistics.

According to a survey of water supply statistics, tap water supply rate increased by 0.1% p to 99.2%. Among them, 2.2%, or 1.15 million people, are supplied with tap water through the village water supply system and small water supply facilities.

The water supply rate in farming and fishing villages was 94.8%, up 0.5 percent from the previous year.

As of the end of 2018, the total length of water pipes was 217,150 km, an increase of 8,116 km from the previous year.

The pipes that have been in service for more than 30 years since its installation were 27,552 km, accounting for 12.7% of the total.

The total amount of tap water supplied in South Korea in 2018 was 6.656 billion ㎥. Due to aging water pipes, 720 million tons of tap water, or 10.8% of the total annual production of tap water, were leaked during the transfer. When translated into production costs (as of 2018), the loss is estimated at 658.1 billion won.

Daily tap water consumption per capita was 295ℓ (6ℓ increase compared to the previous year) for all household and business purposes.

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