Major pipeline failure in Paju leaves 170,000 households without water

Large parts of Paju, Gyeonggi remain without water after a major transmission pipe ruptured Friday morning, cutting supply to roughly 170,000 households and triggering long lines for bottled water across the city.

This screen capture from a JTBC broadcast shows Paju residents queuing to recieve water on Friday evening. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Large parts of Paju, Gyeonggi, remain without water after a major transmission pipe ruptured Friday morning, cutting supply to roughly 170,000 households and triggering long lines for bottled water across the city.

The rupture occurred around 6 a.m. Friday during construction work on the lower Han River’s fourth-phase water-supply system. The failure of a 1-meter-wide (3.3-foot-wide) pipeline forced officials to shut nearby valves, immediately stopping the flow of water to the Gyoha and Wollong reservoirs, which supply most of Paju's central and western districts.

The Korea Water Resources Corporation (K-water) completed emergency repairs shortly before 1 a.m. Saturday, but reservoir levels remain too low for normal services to resume. Water began entering the reservoirs again early Saturday, though the city warned that supply will return gradually and may initially be discolored.

As of 3 a.m., levels at the Gyoha reservoir stood at 3 meters and the Wollong reservoir at 1.65 meters. Flushing and water-quality stabilization will start once both reach 4 meters, the city said. Paju expects water to return first to Geumchon-dong around midday, with other areas following later in the afternoon.

Paju issued its first emergency alert at 12:23 p.m. on Friday — warning of a 1 p.m. shutdown — which left many scrambling without stored water. Long lines formed at Gyoha Library and Paju Stadium, where the city distributed boxes of water. Convenience stores and supermarkets quickly sold out, prompting many residents to turn to early-morning online delivery services.

The city said it will reimburse bottled-water purchases. Broader compensation will be handled by K-water, with detailed procedures to be announced once service is fully restored.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom. BY HYEON YE-SEUL [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]