Gyeongsan Mayor Jo Hyeon-il. [Gyeongsan City]
Gyeongsan Mayor Jo Hyeon-il. [Gyeongsan City]

Gyeongsan Mayor Jo Hyeon-il on Monday called on residents to make water conservation part of their daily lives as the city grapples with an intense heat wave and prolonged drought.

In a public appeal released that day, Jo said the city's cumulative rainfall this year had reached only 396 millimeters — just 57 percent of the historical average. He added that the storage level at Unmun Dam, the city's main drinking water source, had dropped to around 25 percent of capacity, roughly half the normal level, pushing the drought to its most severe classification: "Serious."

"Rainfall far below what we typically see has pushed the city's key agricultural and drinking water sources to their limits," Jo said. "This is a gravely serious emergency in which the very water resources that sustain our residents' daily lives are under threat."

Jo urged residents to act immediately. "Small actions can become the miracle that saves Gyeongsan," he said. "I ask everyone to actively join the water-saving effort at home and at work, starting today."

He went on to say the city would keep its emergency response center in full operation and mobilize all available administrative resources and budget to secure water supplies and minimize damage.


kbj7653@heraldcorp.com