The proper operation and safety management of water and wastewater treatment systems are essential for providing stable water service to the public. However, various natural disasters including floods, large storms, volcano eruptions and earthquakes threaten public water services by causing serious damage to water and wastewater treatment plants and pipeline systems. Korea is known as a country that is relatively safe from earthquakes, but the recent increase in the frequency of earthquakes has increased the need for a proper earthquake management system. Interest in research and the establishment of legal regulations has increased, especially since the large earthquake in Gyeongju in 2016. Currently, earthquakes in Korea are managed by legal regulations and guidelines integrated with other disasters such as floods and large storms. The legal system has long been controlled and relatively well managed, but technical research has made limited progress since it was considered in the past that Korea is safe from earthquake damage. Various technologies, including seismic design and earthquake forecasting, are required to minimize possible damages from earthquakes, so proper research is essential. This paper reviews the current state of technology development and legal management systems to prevent damages and restore water and wastewater treatment systems after earthquakes in Korea and other countries. High technologies such as unmanned aerial vehicles, wireless networks and real-time monitoring systems are already being applied to water and wastewater treatment processes, and to further establish the optimal system for earthquake response in water and wastewater treatment facilities, continuous research in connection with the Fourth Industrial Revolution, including information and communications technologies, is essential.

In this study, the antibiotic components in the final effluent from the 12 wastewater treatment facilities located in the Nakdong River basin were investigated, and the correlation between organic matters, nutrients and antibiotics was analyzed. In the final effluent of the wastewater treatment facilities, three sulfonamides antibiotics (sulfamethazine, sulfathiazole, sulfachlorpyridazine) and tetracyclines antibiotics (oxytetracycline, doxycycline) were detected. Sulfamethazine were detected at all points and ranged from 10.398 to 278.784 ng/L. Sulfathiazole were detected at 6 points (Andong, Gumi, Hapcheon, Miryang, Uiryeong, Haman), and ranged from 23.773 to 144.468 ng/L. The correlation coefficients between sulfathiazole and TSS, COD, TOC, NH3-N, NO2-N, and T-N components were high in the range of 0.73 to 0.92. The correlation coefficient between sulfamethazine and T-N was 0.48, and the correlation with the rest of the water quality components was low. The correlation coefficient between sulfamethazine and sulfathiazole was 0.78. Through this study, it was confirmed that the concentration of sulfonamides antibiotics was higher than the concentration of tetracyclines antibiotics in the final effluent of 12 wastewater treatment facilities in the Nakdong River basin, and the concentration of sulfathiazole increased with organic matters and nutrients.