Seoul offers gift vouchers to residents who report water pipe leaks

The Seoul Metropolitan Government is running a water pipe leak reporting reward program, offering the first person to report a leak a 30,000-won ($22) mobile gift voucher.

The city said Saturday that about 41 percent of water pipe leaks recorded last year were identified through tips from residents, and urged the public to make active use of the reward program.

The city introduced the program in June 2021 to detect leaks earlier and shorten repair times through citizen participation. In both 2024 and last year, more than 40 percent of all leaks were found through public reports, demonstrating its practical impact.

Water pipe leaks can stem from a range of causes, including vibrations and impacts from vehicle traffic and construction work, as well as pipe corrosion. When a leak occurs, the city said, the consequences can extend beyond water loss to road damage, flooding, traffic disruptions and, in some cases, discolored tap water.

Detecting leaks through internal systems such as pipe network monitoring takes time, the city said, as pinpointing the exact location of an anomaly is not always straightforward. When a resident spots and reports a leak first, crews can head directly to the scene before completing a full system analysis, cutting down on repair time.

The city asked residents to report any signs of a suspected water pipe leak — such as water bubbling up through cracks in roads or sidewalks, or water seeping around water main manholes — by calling the 120 Dasan Call Center or the local waterworks office. Those whose reports are confirmed as water pipe leaks and are recognized as the first to file will receive a 30,000-won mobile gift voucher redeemable through the Seoul Love Gift Card system.

Meanwhile, the city operates a 24-hour response system to ensure rapid dispatch and repairs when leaks occur. It also conducts regular simulation drills and emergency readiness checks to maintain the capacity to respond immediately to sudden leaks.

In addition, the city has been stepping up preventive leak management through the maintenance of aging pipes, proactive surveys of leak-prone areas and the development of real-time flow monitoring systems. These efforts helped reduce the number of water pipe leaks by about 5 percent in 2025 compared with 2024.

According to Seoul Arisu Headquarters, the city's water pipe network stretches about 13,277.9 kilometers in total, and the water supply serves about 9.58 million people — a coverage rate of 100 percent.

"Seoul is doing its best to prevent leaks in advance and detect them quickly through aging pipe maintenance and network monitoring," said Kwon Min, head of Seoul Arisu Headquarters. "With citizen reports added to that effort, we can find leaks faster and minimize damage — and we will actively encourage public participation through the reward program."