The Central Disaster Response Center held its 3rd working meeting today (April 13th) to discuss drought response measures. The meeting was chaired by the commander and Minister of Economic Affairs, Wang Mei-Hua. The minister acknowledged the efforts of colleagues in the central and local water conservancy sectors in taking various drought response measures to maintain the public's water supply to the best of their ability. However, the uncertainty of subsequent rainfall requires careful measures to be taken. After deliberation, it was decided to adjust the water supply warning to pressure-reducing yellow lights in Hsinchu and Taichung (including northern Changhua) from today onwards and to increase the water conservation efforts in areas with reduced water supply (orange lights) to enhance water conservation.
Minister Wang stated that although there has been some rainfall recently, it has provided limited help in alleviating the drought situation. Through joint efforts of the central and local governments, the implementation of measures such as water-saving, water transfer, and water exploration has yielded a total of 810 million tons of water. Water conservation measures are being continuously strengthened to store water in reservoirs. For example, in the case of Cheng Ching Lake in Kaohsiung, the water storage volume was 1.76 million tons (68%) on March 31st, and it had increased to 2.44 million tons (94%) by April 10th. However, the Central Weather Bureau has predicted that the climate will be dry and the probability of low rainfall will be high from mid-April to early May. Therefore, it is necessary to be more cautious and to deploy stronger water conservation measures in advance. As a result, the water supply warning in Hsinchu and Taichung (including northern Changhua) has been adjusted to pressure-reducing yellow lights. Under the principle of minimizing the impact on people's daily water use, pressure-reducing water supply will be implemented during the off-peak period from 10 pm to 6 am the next day. In addition, for areas where water supply is reduced (orange lights) such as Tainan and Kaohsiung, from April 20th, water-saving measures for non-industrial water users consuming more than 1,000 kWh per month, swimming pools, car washes, saunas, and water therapy businesses will be increased from 10% to 15%. It is hoped that this will further increase water conservation efforts and extend the period of water supply from reservoirs.
Minister Wang added that in response to the possibility of less rainfall than expected in the southern region and the delay of the plum rains, the "2023 Stable Southern Water Supply and Drought Resistance Plan" has been promoted. By the end of April, it can increase the water source by 136,000 tons per day in the southern region, and by mid-May, it can increase it to 166,000 tons per day. At the same time, various drought-resistant water sources, such as mobile water purification equipment, recycled water production capacity expansion, and emergency seawater desalination units, will be used to help combat the drought. Large-scale mobile water purification equipment and water supply stations will be set up to meet the agricultural water demand in mountainous and remote areas and assist farmers in transporting and supplementing water sources. The government will continue to enhance drought resilience through measures such as conserving, transferring, and locating additional water resources, and call on all sectors of society to conserve water and work together to overcome the drought crisis.
Spokesperson of Water Resources Agency: Deputy Director General Wang Yi-Feng
E-mail:[email protected]
Office Tel: (02) 37073000 Mobile Phone: 0933-012183
Unit in Charge: Water Resources Management Division, Chief Li Ya-Ru
E-mail:[email protected]
Office Tel: (04) 22501203 Mobile Phone: 0961135791
Sources: MOEA
