The Honam region lies in the southern inland of the Korean Peninsula to the west of a mountain range that runs from Deogyusan-Jirisan. Since ancient times, this region has been a fertile granary where many rivers such as the Manggyeong, Yeongsan, and Seomjin flow into the West and South Seas. Over the past century, the government actively carried out reclamation projects on the west coast, where the tidal range is large. Adjacent water fishing and aquaculture have developed.

Agricultural water supply facilities using reservoirs have been used for a long time. On the other hand, the rate of the domestic water supply in rural areas through a wide-area water network is low. Jeollabuk-do mainly supplies domestic water through small-scale water supply facilities. A wide-area water supply using the water resources of Yongdang Dam is in consideration. Jeollanam-do supplies 90% of domestic water demand through wide-area and local water networks. Water supply modernization projects have been in progress to supply domestic water to rural and fishing villages.