Some residents of North Korea’s capital city of Pyongyang are suffering because of dirty water being supplied to their homes.
“The water pipes are so old that they are discharging muddy water and people are using it to wash their faces. Those who drink it become quite ill,” a source in Pyongyang told Daily NK.
Moreover, the daily lives of residents are being negatively impacted due to the unreliable water supplies.
“We haven’t been receiving much electricity, but even the water is becoming a problem this year. Electricity is at least supplied one or two hours a day, but water is sometimes cut-off for four days at a time,” he said.
“I want to use the toilet, but there’s no water. Many are complaining because in hot weather like this they want to take a cold shower but can’t.”
As confidence in the government’s ability to supply households with water evaporates, many are taking steps toward “self-reliance.” Those who can afford to are buying large volumes of drinking water. The installation of water tanks is also becoming common, enabling people to store water at home.
“The water tank is becoming an essential household item. Some houses have 2 kiloliter water tanks, others have 200L tanks, and some only have a combination of plastic containers for holding water,” a separate source in Pyongyang added.
“In apartments, you can see people going up and down the stairs carrying water, and in the streets there are some people who don’t even have hand carts, just carrying water containers with their hands.”
Daily NK reported in April that residents of Pyongsong City, which is close to Pyongyang, had resorted to drinking water collected from the Taedong River due to water supply issues.
The North Korean government is failing to adequately supply water due to deterioration of its infrastructure, a lack of materials for water purification, and a lack of electricity needed to operate facilities.
Regarding this, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization said in its February 2019 DPR Korea Needs and Priorities report that 39% of the North Korean population does not have access to safe water sources.
Experts have also pointed out that the health of residents is being put at risk because household water tanks are not being properly cleaned.
Lee Ho Sik, a professor at the Korea National University of Transportation, said during a special session on North Korea’s water and sewage infrastructure at 2019 Water Korea (an international trade show for the water industry) held in Daegu in March that “tap water supplied by North Korea’s Water Supply Office is not safe for drinking […] 23.5% of the drinking water supply is contaminated with E. coli.”
*Translated by Yongmin Lee
