Typhoon ushers in relief

Water restrictions in northern Taiwan could soon be lifted thanks to Typhoon Rammasun, officials at the Water Resources Agency said yesterday.

"We're very optimistic that water restrictions for household use in northern Taiwan can be lifted in a few days," Chen Shen-hsien (陳伸賢), deputy director at the agency, told the Taipei Times yesterday.

Chen said the Cabinet's drought disaster-relief center would consider lifting water controls at its meeting tomorrow.

Torrential rains brought by the approaching typhoon have boosted water levels at two major reservoirs in northern Taiwan.

As of 8pm yesterday, the water level role 1.31m at the Shihmen Dam (石門水庫) in Taoyuan County, to 206.28m.

As of 10pm, 90.29mm of rain fell at Feitsui Reservoir (翡翠水庫) in Taipei County, adding 2.306 million tonnes of water. The water level at Feitsui rose to 119.92m, or more than 8 percent of its effective capacity.

According to the Central Weather Bureau, Typhoon Rammasun will sweep the northeast tip of Taiwan early this morning, bringing torrential rain.

Chen said Shihmen Dam was expected to accumulate more than 150mm of rainfall -- making it possible to end 36-hour weekend water cutoffs for Taoyuan County and 10 townships in Taipei County.

The restriction could be lifted if the water level at Shihmen Dam reaches 210m, Chen said.

Chen said restrictions on water supplied to swimming pools and car washes might also be lifted.

"Rain brought by the typhoon has added many variables to our decision-making process and we'll focus on changes to water restrictions at this week's regular meeting" of the drought task force, Chen said.

At tomorrow's meeting, the Cabinet's drought disaster-relief center is expected to make a final decision on whether and when to adjust the drought measures.

As for restrictions in Taipei City, Chen said the decision to make changes would be left to the city government.

Lin Shiou-wen (林秀雯), section chief of the weather bureau's forecasting center, said yesterday that residents in northern Taiwan should be alert for heavy rain.

The Taipei City Government said last night that the city's water rationing measures be lifted for today, but whether they would be lifted tomorrow had not yet been decided.