Reasons for Proposal and Major Provisions

The current Act requires the owner or manager of a building or facility larger than the size prescribed by Presidential Decree (hereinafter referred to as “large buildings”) to disinfect his/her water supply facilities (water-supply pipes, water tanks, etc.), inspect water quality, and take other necessary sanitary measures (hereinafter referred to as "sanitary measures, including disinfection") and also, requires each general waterworks business operator to guide and supervise the implementation of sanitary measures, including disinfection, done by the owner or manager of the relevant building or facility.

However, the audit report of the Board of Audit and Inspection pointed out that the sanitary management of water tanks was poor in September 2022 because there were many cases in which general waterworks business operators were omitting guidance and supervision on whether to implement sanitary measures, including disinfection, for water tanks in large buildings. There is no obligation under the current Act for owners or managers of large buildings to report to each general waterworks operator in relation to the installation and retention of water tanks, which causes that each general water service provider has difficulties in accurately identifying the subjects of management, so there was an opinion that the related regulations need to be supplemented.

Therefore, this amendment aims to establish an institutional device to improve the level of sanitation management of water tanks by providing a legal basis for imposing an obligation on owners or managers of large buildings to report the current status of the water tanks to each general waterworks business operator when a water tank is installed and imposing sanctions in cases of violation (Article 33 (2) newly inserted).