[Report] Water Outage in This Heat... Ulsan Eonyang Bulgogi Business Hit Hard

【Financial News Ulsan=Choi Su-sang Reporter】 Due to a large water main break following heavy rain, water supply was cut off for the second day in six towns in the western area of Ulsan, causing widespread damage from the water outage.
On the 21st, in downtown Eonyang-eup, Ulju-gun, Ulsan, most cafes and restaurants had posted notices saying "Closed due to water outage" and were on break.
Naengmyeon and patbingsu shops, which were expecting a summer boom, were hit hard, and some businesses like hair salons and car washes, which frequently need water, were also closed.
A cafe owner said, "I couldn't make drinks or use the restroom, so I closed for two days," adding, "The monthly rent alone is 700,000 won, so the loss is significant."
Some restaurants brought water from downtown Ulsan where tap water was available. The owner of B Kalguksu restaurant said, "I brought about twelve buckets of water from a house in the city and operated."

The owner of a snack shop in Eonyang Alps Market said, "We received water supplied by Ulju-gun in a large container," adding, "We use it for cooking but can't do the dishes."
Some merchants said they were bringing spring water from the Jakseonjeong area to operate.
Given the situation, suspicions arose about a famous Eonyang Bulgogi restaurant where customers lined up for lunch despite the water outage.
A nearby restaurant owner said, "We don't even have enough water to boil noodles, but they were operating normally. If a city or county water truck supplied them, it would be favoritism," expressing suspicion.
However, not all Eonyang Bulgogi restaurants in the area were operating normally. Some took orders for bulgogi but couldn't serve naengmyeon as a dessert due to a lack of water. 

Not only Eonyang-eup but also restaurants in Samnam-eup and Sangbuk-myeon were affected. Employees from the industrial complex in the area went to Yangsan for lunch. 
As the water outage continued, Ulsan City and Ulju-gun provided emergency support with bottled water and domestic water, but with a heatwave warning issued, residents' inconvenience is increasing. Ulju-gun additionally mobilized eight private water trucks to supply drinking water to the outage area. Officials distributed six 2-liter bottles of bottled water per household to residents in the affected area.
Meanwhile, the water outage, which began at 10 a.m. on the 20th, affected Eonyang-eup, Samnam-eup, Samdong-myeon, Sangbuk-myeon, Duseo-myeon, and Dudong-myeon in Ulju-gun. It occurred when a 900mm diameter water main connecting Cheonsang Water Purification Plant in Beomseo-eup, Ulju-gun, to Eonyang 1 Pumping Station broke at 12:10 p.m. on Saturday, the 19th. Approximately 35,000 households and over 68,000 residents live in these six towns.

ulsan@fnnews.com Choi Su-sang Reporter