Abstract
Water quality data from water treatment plants in Korea during 1994-1998 were investigated to find out the characteristics of their non compliance. The number of plants surveyed were approximately 600 and the number of samples were over 30,000. Ten parameters of water quality selected in this study and their non compliance % (inside parenthesis) were as follows: Heterotrophic plate count (0.14%), Total coliforms (0.08%), $NH_3$-N (0.29%), $NO_3$-N (0.14%), THMs (0.02%), Turbidity (0.11%), Residual chlorine (5.5%), $KMnO_4$ consumption (0.04%), Hardness (0.03%), pH (0.07%). These levels of non compliance were compared to those obtained from WIDB (Water Industry Database, 1996) of American Water Works Association. This study strongly supported that small water plants (<10,000 tons/day) were more vulnerable in meeting the regulation criteria of many water quality parameters such as Heterotrophic plate count. Total coliforms, $NO_3$-N, THMs, Turbidity, Residual chlorine, $KMnO_1$ consumption, Hardness and pH. The $NH_3$-N concentration was especially high in winter and its violation was frequently found in the specific areas such as the downstream of major rivers. The average THMs concentration was surprisingly low, indicating $13{\mu}g/L$ which is 43% of US. Accordingly, these characteristics must be reflected in establishing the effective management of water quality policy of drinking water in Korea.
