Seoul’s bottled tap water, Arisu. (image: Seoul Metropolitan Government)
SEOUL, March 24 (Korea Bizwire) — How safe is Arisu, Seoul’s tap water, when the coronavirus continues to spread?
The Seoul Metropolitan Government explained Monday that Arisu is perfectly safe to drink since the virus is completely eradicated during the purification process.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and World Health Organization (WHO) reported that transmission of the coronavirus through water is very unlikely.
Also, coronaviruses are typically more vulnerable to chlorination than water-borne viruses, enabling the purification process to kill them off completely.
Seoul’s tap water comes from the Han River, and is sent to various Arisu purification centers throughout the city to go through the first processing phase of filtering impurities by adding appropriate chemicals.
Then, the water goes through an intensive purification processing that uses ozone and granular activated carbon, after which an appropriate amount of chlorine is injected.
The process kills 99.99 percent of all viruses, easily meeting national standards as required by law.
Seoul city officials explained that chlorine, added in the final phase of the purification process, ensures the water’s safety from all viruses.
The Seoul Water Institute, a national agency, conducts tests on the water at all six Arisu purification centers as well as purified tap water once every three months to detect any water-borne viruses.
The institute said that over the past 10 years, no viruses have been found in the tap water.
The six Arisu purification centers in Seoul use continuous measurement devices to monitor the turbidity and chlorine residues in real-time.
The city is focusing its efforts to supply water that is safe to drink by ensuring that the tap water meets all processing requirements to eradicate viruses.
Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
