Article 3(Definitions) #
The terms used in this Act are defined as follows: <Amended on Feb. 29, 2008; May 25, 2010; Jul. 28, 2011; Nov. 14, 2011; Mar. 23, 2013; Dec. 30, 2013; Jun. 8, 2018; Nov. 26, 2019; Mar. 31, 2020; May 26, 2020; Oct. 22, 2024; Oct. 1, 2025>
1. The term "raw water" means natural water that is provided for drinking or industrial purposes; provided, the water for agricultural and fishing villages under subparagraph 3 of Article 2 of the Rearrangement of Agricultural and Fishing Villages Act shall be excluded; but such water shall be deemed raw water, where the Minister of Climate, Energy and Environment determines to use such water as raw water in consultation with the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs or the Minister of Oceans and Fisheries in an emergency, such as a drought, as prescribed by Presidential Decree;
2. The term "water source" means the rivers, lakes, marshes, groundwater, seawater, etc. within an area where water intake facilities are installed so that the water for drinking or industrial purposes can be supplied;
3. The term "wide-area water source" means water source which supplies the water to two local governments or more;
4. The term "processed water" means water that is properly treated for drinking or industrial use;
5. The term "waterworks" means the whole of facilities with pipelines and other constructions for providing the raw water or processed water, and it is divided into "general waterworks", "industrial waterworks", and "exclusive waterworks"; provided, the waterworks installed for temporary purposes and agricultural infrastructure under subparagraph 6 of Article 2 of the Rearrangement of Agricultural and Fishing Villages Act shall be excluded herefrom;
6. The term "general waterworks" means the wide-area waterworks, local waterworks, and village waterworks;
7. The term "wide-area waterworks" means a general waterworks that is operated by the State, a local government, the Korea Water Resources Corporation, or a person who is authorized by the Minister of Climate, Energy and Environment to provide raw or processed water to two or more local governments (including where water is supplied to general consumers in accordance with Article 43 (4)). In such cases, the scope of the wide-area waterworks that may be installed by the State or a local government shall be prescribed by Presidential Decree;
8. The term "local waterworks" means the general waterworks, excluding the wide-area waterworks and the village waterworks, which is operated by a local government or a waterworks association to provide the raw or processed water to its own residents, its neighboring local governments or their residents;
9. The term "village waterworks" means the waterworks prescribed by Presidential Decree, which is operated by a local government or a waterworks association to provide the processed water of not less than 20 but less than 500 cubic meters a day to not less than 100 but not more than 2500 persons or any waterworks corresponding thereto, which is designated by the Special Metropolitan City Mayor, a Metropolitan City Mayor, a Special Self-Governing City Mayor, a Special Self-Governing Province Governor, and the head of a Si/Gun (excluding the head of a Gun in a Metropolitan City);
10. The term "industrial waterworks" means the waterworks which is operated by industrial waterworks business operators to provide the raw or processed water properly treated for industrial use;
11. The term "exclusive waterworks" means the private-use waterworks and private-use industrial waterworks;
12. The term "private-use waterworks" means the waterworks for private use in dormitories, company housing quarters, sanatoriums, or other institutions which accommodate at least 100 persons, and the waterworks, other than those for waterworks business operators, which provide the raw or processed water to at least 100 but not more than 5,000 persons (including the migratory population of schools, churches, etc.); provided, waterworks in whose case daily water supply volume and the scale of their facilities fall short of the standards prescribed by Presidential Decree, among waterworks that supply water only from another waterworks, shall be excluded herefrom;
13. The term "private-use industrial waterworks" means the waterworks, other than those operated by waterworks business operators, which provides the raw or processed water that is properly treated for industrial use; provided, waterworks in whose case daily water supply volume and the scale of their facilities fall short of the standards prescribed by Presidential Decree, among waterworks that supply water only from another waterworks, shall be excluded herefrom;
14. The term "small water supply system" means any water supply system designated by the Special Metropolitan City Mayor, a Metropolitan City Mayor, a Special Self-Governing City Mayor, a Special Self-Governing Province Governor and the head of a Si/Gun (excluding the head of a Gun in a Metropolitan City) which supplies water for a population of less than 100 persons or supply water less than 20 cubic meters a day, and which is jointly installed and managed by residents;
15. Deleted; <May 25, 2010>
16. Deleted; <Jun. 8, 2010>
17. The term "waterworks facilities" means the water intake facilities, the water reservation facilities, the raw-water conveyance facilities, the water purification facilities, the processed-water conveyance facilities, the drainage facilities, the final-stage water supply facilities, and other waterworks for the purpose of providing the raw or processed water;
18. The term "waterworks business" means the business, the purpose of which is to provide, by means of the waterworks, the raw or processed water to general consumers or other waterworks business operators, and it shall be divided into the general waterworks business and the industrial waterworks business;
19. The term "general waterworks business" means the business, the purpose of which is to provide, by means of the general waterworks, the raw or processed water to general consumers or other waterworks business operators;
20. The term "industrial waterworks business" means the business, the purpose of which is to provide, by means of the industrial waterworks, the raw or processed water to general consumers or other waterworks business operators;
21. The term "integration of waterworks business" means the unification of the operation and management of waterworks business by at least 2 local governments in order to establish a sustainable waterworks supply system through the rationalization of the management of waterworks business and to resolve the waterworks service gap between regions;
22. The term "waterworks business operators" means the general waterworks business operators and the industrial waterworks business operators;
23. The term "general waterworks business operator" means a person who runs the general waterworks business after having obtained authorization under Article 17 (1);
24. The term "industrial waterworks business operator" means a person who runs the industrial waterworks business after having obtained authorization under Article 49 (1);
25. The term "waterworks association" means a local government association under Article 176 of the Local Autonomy Act, which is a juristic person established by at least 2 local governments to jointly operate and manage waterworks business;
26. The term "final-stage water supply facilities" means the water-supply pipes (including indoor water-supply pipes), the water meter, the water tank, faucets, and other water supply equipment connected to the water supply pipes which a waterworks business operator has installed to provide the raw or processed water to general consumers;
27. The term "waterworks construction" means the construction work, the purpose of which is to newly install, enlarge, or remodel the waterworks facilities;
28. The term "waterworks management right" means the right to manage and maintain the waterworks facilities and to impose on and collect from the beneficiaries of the waterworks service charges for the raw or processed water produced from the waterworks facilities;
29. The term "renovation" means the restoration of the water-flow functions of pipes by coating the pipes after removing rusts and impurities from such pipes;
30. The term "certified operation manager of water purification facilities" means a person who is in charge of the operation and management of water purification facilities after having acquired a certificate of qualifications under Article 24;
31. The term "certified operation manager of water pipe network facilities" means a person who is in charge of the operation and management of water pipe network and its affiliated facilities (hereinafter referred to as "water pipe network facilities") after having acquired a certificate of qualifications under Article 25-2;
32. The term "water-using appliances" means appliances that use water supplied through water supply facilities, such as an electric washing machine and dishwasher;
33. The term "water-saving fixtures" means fixtures prescribed by Decree of the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment, such as a faucet and toilet that is manufactured to meet standards, such as structure and specifications, prescribed by Decree of the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment to help people reduce water use;
34. The term "water-saving devices" means devices additionally fixed on fixtures prescribed by Decree of the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment, such as a faucet and toilet, to meet the standards prescribed by Decree of the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment to help people reduce water use;
35. The term "seawater desalination facilities" means the waterworks facilities that collect and desalinate seawater or saline groundwater resulting from seawater intrusion to supply processed water.