Water rationing begins in Taipei

A nationwide water shortage prompted rationing in Taipei City yesterday and spurred contingency planning in others areas, as weather forecast officials warned that relief is not likely to arrive anytime soon.

Low water levels at the Feitsui Reservoir (翡翠水庫) in Taipei County prompted Taipei City to institute the first stage of its rationing regime yesterday. Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) called on residents to cooperate with the measures.

"The situation has become far worse than anyone had previously imagined it would. We must impose water rationing, because we have no reason to believe an end to the drought is in sight," Ma said at a press conference yesterday.

The emergency measures will delay the opening of 168 public swimming pools slated to reopen May 1, Tsay Huel-sheng (蔡輝昇), director general of the Taipei Water Department, said.

"If all of them remain closed, 40,000 tonnes of water would be saved per day," Tsay said.

The water demand from 49 public pools that have already opened, Tsay said, will be reduced as much as possible.

The regular testing of fire hydrants has been halted under the measures.

"The first stage of water rationing seeks to promote conservation," said Tsay, which will include the replacement, by May 23, of leaky plumbing in public facilities with devices that promote conservation.

The first stage of water rationing will continue until the water crisis passes, Tsay said.

Continuing drought could prompt even stricter water rationing, Tsay said, and affect places including saunas, car washing stations and beauty spas.

In other northern counties, normal water supplies could be suspended by month's end.

"If the drought persists, we will have to reduce the water supply by 10 percent beginning May 1," said Lee Tieh-min (李鐵民), head of the North Water Resources Bureau under the Water Resource Agency (水利署), adding that the situation was indeed worrisome.

Lee said that average rainfall for March at the Shihmen Dam (石門水庫), Taoyuan County, was 155mm, but that this year it was only 56mm, and April was looking even worse.

"The average rainfall for April is 156mm, but so far we've only gotten 16mm this month," Lee said, adding that the dam now contains only 13 percent of its capacity.

If water rationing does begin on May 1, the daily supply of 1.3 million tonnes of water to part of Taipei County, Taoyuan and Hsinchu Counties would be cut to 1.17 million tonnes. Daily water supply for irrigation to Taoyuan, officials said, would be reduced from 600,000 tonnes to 500,000 tonnes.

In the south, officials at the Taiwan Water Supply Corporation (TWSC) said that the first stage of water rationing would be imposed on May 10th if the drought continues.

"Water levels in the Kaoping River are dropping, so the daily supply of 220,000 tonnes from the Nanhua Reservoir (南化水庫) in Tainan County to Kaohsiung and its environs might become unreliable," said Tseng Hao-hsiung (曾浩雄), manager at the TWSC's seventh district.

According to the Central Weather Bureau, a front arriving in Taiwan today might bring some rain, but the amount would not be enough to ease the crisis.