Busan is good

Busan Water Authority Achieves Continued Success in Public Enterprise Management Awards

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Busan Water Authority (hereinafter referred to as the Authority) announced that, in addition to achieving the remarkable record of being rated “Excellent” for six consecutive terms in the “Local Public Enterprise Management Evaluation in the Waterworks Sector” organized by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, it has also been selected as the recipient of the “Excellence in Management Innovation Award” at the “1st Korea Public Enterprise Management Awards” hosted by The Seoul Shinmun.

The Authority has already set a record by receiving the “Excellent” rating six times in a row in the “Local Public Enterprise Management Evaluation in the Waterworks Sector,” which has been conducted by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety since 1993 (biennially since 2017) targeting nine metropolitan waterworks nationwide.

The newly received award, the “1st Korea Public Enterprise Management Award,” was presented yesterday (22nd) at an event hosted by The Seoul Shinmun. The Authority was recognized for its excellence in management innovation and exemplary practice of social responsibility among local public enterprises.

In particular, the Authority received high evaluations in major areas such as ▲managerial leadership ▲disaster and safety management ▲tap water quality control ▲management innovation. The award also reflects the results of its ongoing innovation efforts, including ▲expanded water quality testing ▲the introduction of a smart water supply network management system ▲the advancement of quality control.

Meanwhile, as a local public enterprise directly operated by the municipality, the Authority seeks to balance public service and business operations. Despite the ongoing rise in tap water production costs, it must minimize the burden on citizens while producing clean and safe tap water.

In this context, the Authority views the active adoption and use of “smart city technologies” as the best way to both maintain the public nature of waterworks and achieve rational management by maximizing productivity and efficiency.

Accordingly, at the Waterworks Authority Directors’ Meeting held in September this year (organized by the Ministry of Environment), the Authority proposed an R&D demonstration project titled “Development of an Integrated Platform for Smart Water Supply Network Management” based on artificial intelligence (AI), in line with the “National AI Strategy.” It has requested that Busan be designated as a demonstration site for the project.

Once implemented, the system will be able to predict potential water leakage points through big data analysis, thereby enhancing budget efficiency for replacing aging pipelines. However, as inherent waterworks data (such as water pressure, quality, flow, and pipeline information) are not standardized and are operated as separate systems by each local government and system, Busan seeks to first demonstrate an “AI-based Integrated Waterworks Platform” and then expand it nationwide.

Kim Byung-ki, Director General of Busan Water Authority, stated, “Busan has received high recognition for its ability to produce and supply stable tap water despite geographical constraints such as being located downstream of the Nakdong River. This achievement is the result of the dedicated efforts of all staff involved in every stage from water intake and purification to distribution and supply, along with the trust of our citizens. Moving forward, Busan Water Authority will continue to implement management innovation and do its utmost to provide high-quality water services that citizens can trust and be satisfied with.”