Ulsan Mayor Kim Sang-uk inspects the bottled water production facility and purification process at the Cheonsang Water Purification Plant in Ulsan on Wednesday. [Ulsan City]
Ulsan Mayor Kim Sang-uk inspects the bottled water production facility and purification process at the Cheonsang Water Purification Plant in Ulsan on Wednesday. [Ulsan City]

As heat waves and drought conditions persist, Ulsan has made securing safe drinking water and protecting residents its top priority, ramping up its emergency response.

The city held an internal review meeting Thursday, chaired by Mayor Kim Sang-uk, to assess its heat wave response and drought countermeasures, with a focus on protecting vulnerable residents and ensuring a stable supply of household water.

The city has been under some form of heat advisory since July 6, cycling through a full heat wave warning and an extreme heat wave warning before returning to an advisory level. In response, the city sent letters bearing the mayor's name to 5,656 workplaces, urging employers to prevent heat-related illness among workers and comply with five basic heat safety guidelines.

To help residents escape the heat in their daily lives, the city expanded its network of heat-relief facilities: it now operates 1,242 designated cooling shelters, expanded CU convenience store cooling shelters from nine locations to 36, improved shade canopies at 500 aging bus stops, and installed 107 additional shade structures.

Additional measures include operating 21 road-spraying vehicles, strengthening protection for vulnerable elderly residents and homeless people, conducting safety inspections at construction sites, deploying drones for surveillance and village broadcasts in rural areas, and monitoring heat-related illness in coordination with 12 emergency medical institutions.

Cumulative rainfall over the past six months stands at 382.2 millimeters, just 53.8 percent of the historical average, prompting the city to increase its raw water intake from the Nakdong River to secure drinking water for residents. Bottled water is being supplied to drought-vulnerable villages, and emergency water deliveries along with 109 water pumps and spraying vehicles have been dispatched to 104 agricultural reservoirs.

"With the heat wave and drought showing no signs of letting up, protecting residents' lives and safety and securing their drinking water is the foremost priority of city administration," a city official said.


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