The U.S. Army positioned portable toilets around Camp Humphreys following a widespread water outage that began Sept. 25, 2026. (Yoojin Lee/Stars and Stripes)
CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea — Schools were closed and some food services were unavailable Monday at America’s largest overseas military base as crews continued repressurizing water lines following a widespread weekend outage.
Water was available throughout the installation, but officials were bringing services back gradually to avoid straining the recovering system, said U.S. Army Garrison Humphreys spokesman Jeff Nagan.
“There is nobody without water that we’re aware of in any of our towers or barracks, or any of our facilities,” he told Stars and Stripes by phone Monday. “We’re just repressurizing the lines.”
Officials were considering whether to reopen food services gradually or all at once, Nagan said.
Restaurants and coffee shops serving on Monday included Burger King, Starbucks and Dunkin’ at the Downtown Shopping Center; Qdoba, Popeye’s and Starbucks at the Sentry Mini-Mall; and Subway at the Family Mini-Mall, according to a post that day on the base’s Facebook page
“It’s a slow and deliberate process, and we want to make sure we are not putting any unnecessary strain on our water system,” he said.
The outage began Friday evening after a mechanical failure, Nagan said. He declined to identify the failed equipment, citing operational security.
Repairs required a replacement part and specialists whose arrival was delayed by traffic associated with Chuseok, South Korea’s fall harvest holiday, Nagan said.
“The traffic is really what took them a little bit longer to get here to start making the necessary repairs,” he said.
The Army deployed emergency water tanks and established drinking water distribution sites during the outage. Water began flowing again early Saturday, but crews were still working Monday to restore normal pressure throughout the installation.
Classes at Camp Humphrey’s four Department of Defense Education Activity schools were canceled Monday to reduce demand on the water system, Nagan said.
The U.S. Army positioned portable toilets around Camp Humphreys following a widespread water outage that began Sept. 25, 2026. (Yoojin Lee/Stars and Stripes)
“It’s purely in an abundance of caution,” he said.
The outage prompted a water conservation notice Saturday and temporarily shut down numerous facilities, including Army and Air Force Exchange Service food operations, Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation facilities and the AAFES main exchange, according to a post on the base’s Facebook page.
Base officials continued to assess when services could return to normal Monday.
“Every few hours, we are meeting to discuss how we proceed,” Nagan said.
Camp Humphreys, in Pyeongtaek about 40 miles south of Seoul, is a major hub for U.S. military operations in South Korea and headquarters for U.S. Forces Korea, Eighth Army and the 2nd Infantry Division.
Approximately 43,000 service members, Defense Department civilians, contractors and family members live on the installation, according to Military OneSource, a DOD information and resource program.
