Taiwan launches drought-fighting strategy

2015-03-10

The ROC government is mobilizing all agencies and resources to tackle the worst drought plaguing Taiwan in a decade, with a raft of wide-ranging measures ready for rollout if the situation further deteriorates.

“Our goal is to avoid a water shortage and keep rationing from affecting households before the end of May,” President Ma Ying-jeou said March 7 while inspecting Shihmen Dam in northern Taiwan’s Taoyuan City.

“All dams around the country, with the exception of New Taipei City’s Feitsui Reservoir, have seen water levels drop below 50 percent,” he said, adding that the Water Resources Agency is using this unwelcome opportunity to remove sediment from reservoirs and improve water storage capacity.

“The current situation serves as a salient reminder of the need for enhanced management procedures in order to ensure water sustainability going forward.”

According to the Central Weather Bureau, Taiwan’s dry spell started last October and precipitation levels are at a record low.

The second phase of water rationing was initiated by the Cabinet-level Central Disaster Prevention and Response Council Feb. 26, reducing water supply to industrial users by 5 percent and other heavy users by 20 percent. Areas affected include Hsinchu, Kaohsiung, Miaoli, Taichung, Tainan and Taoyuan in the western half of the country.

“Factories in Miaoli, New Taipei and Taoyuan are facing stricter rationing, though, with water supply reduced by 7.5 percent beginning March 13,” a WRA official said. “This is because the level of Shihmen Dam, which supplies the region with 1.48 million tons of water daily, has dipped to 47.8 million tons, the lowest for the period since it came on line in 1964.

“If the drought persists into May, the third phase of rationing will see water supply cut to entire areas of Taiwan on a rotating basis.”

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=228072&CtNode=413)