Water Use

• Water resources use The estimated total annual use in 2018 is 36.6B㎥, with household, industrial, and agricultural water use making up 67% (24.4㎥) and river maintenance 33% (12.2㎥)
  • By water resource Water use by resource includes dam water (53.5%), river water (35%), underground water (7.6%), recycled wastewater (2.9%), recycled water (0.9%), rainwater (0.02%), and seawater desalination (0.01%)

    Water resources use : Classification, Dams, Rivers, Underground, Recycled wastewater, Recycled water, Rainwater, Seawater, desalinization, Total

    Classification	Dams①	Rivers①	Underground	Recycled wastewater	Recycled water	Rainwater	Seawater② desalinization	Total
    Used(100M㎥ per year)	203.9	133.2	29.1	11.1	3.6	0.08	0.03	381.0③
    Ratio(%)	53.52	34.96	7.64	2.91	0.94	0.02	0.01	100.0

    1. Due to difficulties in distinguishing between dam water and river water, dam water use was calculated based on water supply capacity and river water use based on total use
    2. Annual use was estimated based on facility capacities
    3. Exclusion of recycled water, recycled wastewater (other than industrial water), rainwater, and other types of water from the recorded water resources rendered inaccuracies in recorded water resource use

       Source : 2019 Annual Report on Groundwater Survey, 2018 Sewerage Statistics, 2018 Conditions of Seawater Desalinization Facility Operation and Management (Ministry of Environment); 2019 Water Facility Operation and Management Manual (Korea Water Resources Corporation)

• By purpose The 24.4B㎥ of water used includes 7.4B㎥ (30%) of household water, 1.6B㎥ (7%) of industrial water, and 15.4B㎥ (63%) of agricultural water
  • Compared to 2014, use of household and industrial water fell by 900M㎥ and use of agricultural water rose by 200M㎥ (estimates)

    Used : Used(억㎥), '65, '80, '90, '03, '07, '14, '18, Household water, Industrial water, Agricultural water

    Used(100M㎥)	’65	’80	’90	’03	’07	’14	’18
    Household water	2	19	42	76	77	76	74①
    Industrial water	4	7	24	26	28	23	16①
    Agricultural water	45	102	147	160	154	152	154②
    Total	51	128	213	262	259	251	244

    1. Changes made to water supply estimation standards in 2018 were reflected (classification of purified industrial water as household water)
    2. Estimation for different types of farming (required water volume x farming area) was replaced with calculation of actual supplied volumes (where possible)

       Water resources available per capita: 1,507 ㎥ per year

       Annual average runoff of 77.1B ㎥ (runoff from N. Korea included) ÷ Total population of 51,160,000 (as of 2018; Jeju Island excluded)

       • When population densities are taken in to account, Han River is the smallest water resource and Yeongsan-Seomjin River the largest

    < River Basins as Water Resources (Unit: ㎥ per year/capita) >

    River Basins as Water Resources (Unit: ㎥ per year/capita) : Han River Basin, Nakdong River Basin, Geum River Basin, Yeongsan-Seomjin River Basin

    Han River Basin	Nakdong River Basin	Geum River Basin	Yeongsan-Seomjin River Basin
    1,090	1,531	2,013	3,705