The Executive Yuan announced yesterday that 3,000 hectares of Hsinchu rice paddies will be left fallow next year because the water in Shihmen Dam has dropped to moderate levels.
Cabinet Spokesman Chuang Suo-hang (
PHOTO: PENG JIH-CHING, TAIPEI TIMES
"We plan to leave about 3,000 hectares of agricultural land fallow early next year to meet water demand from other sectors, such as industry and residences," Lin said in response to questions from lawmakers.
The Cabinet will not decide until the end of the month whether more agricultural land will face the same restrictions.
Chuang said next week the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) will invite several agencies, including the Taipei City Government, to discuss whether the rice fields in the Shihmen irrigation area should be left fallow.
He said ministry's Water Re-sources Agency is considering activating the ad hoc drought disaster-relief center and will present a more comprehensive plan to deal with the water shortage problem within a week.
Chen Shen-hsien (
He said the Shihmen Reservoir in Taoyuan County reduced the water it supplied for irrigation to 80 percent of its norm in September, to 50 percent in October and then halted supplies completely late last month.
"The situation is worse than last year because we only had one typhoon this year to fill reservoirs," Chen said.
"We hope the situation will improve with the arrival of spring rains early next year in northern Taiwan," he said.
Chen said the Shihmen Reservoir has only 80 percent of the water it had during the same period last year, while the comparable figure for the Feitsui Reservoir is 65 percent.
Starting last month, Chen said, Feitsui set 2.9 million tonnes of water as its maximum daily water supply. Shihmen then began to offer 300,000 tonnes of water per day to the Panhsin Water Purification Plant -- which sits on the border of Taipei and Taoyuan counties -- to ease the burden on Feitsui.
As for the south of the country, Chen said that water levels at both the Wushantou and Tsengwen reservoirs have reached "seriously low limits" in October, causing the halt of water supplies for irrigation use until February.
But Chen said that it is highly unlikely that rice fields in the center and south will be left fallow.
"We'll try to economize the use of water first and make necessary adjustments while reviewing the measure in the end of December," he said.
He said the Nanhua Reservoir will probably be able to meet the demands of residents and industry.
Agricultural associations in southern Taiwan have refused to let farmland lie fallow but said they would be prepared to adjust the distribution of water if needed.
Chuang said the Water Re-sources Agency is also planning to transport water to offshore islands.
"Although Kinmen and Penghu have normal water levels at the moment, islets in the Matsu island group -- Nankan and Hsichu -- may soon have a shortage," Chuang said.
The Cabinet spokesman said the government will also beef up efforts to promote water conservation.
"We're thinking of authorizing private companies to carry out the project," Chuang said.
The government is also encouraging the private sector to build desalinators to provide fresh water on a steady basis.
"To ensure their businesses, the government will place regular orders," Chuang said.
The MOEA was severely criticized during this year's drought for its decision-making process -- or lack of it -- on how much land should be made fallow and how to handle the water crisis, as farmers competed with the high-tech firms in the Hsinchu Science-based Industrial Park for water.
A 66-day-long period of water rationing in the north came to an end after Typhoon Rammasun in early July.
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