Tainan and Kaohsiung are to implement stricter water limitations on Thursday after water levels in the south of the nation hit an all-time low.
The Water Resources Agency’s southern office warned that the region might even be put on third-phase water rationing if there is not more rain in the area soon.
No major reservoirs in the region have collected enough water due to the dry spell that the nation has seen since October last year, the office said.
Photo: Lin Tzu-hsiang, Taipei Times
Agency Deputy Director General Lai Bor-hsun (賴伯勳) visited the Zengwen Reservoir (曾文水庫) and the Gaoping River Dam (高屏溪攔堰) in Dashu Township (大樹) over the Lunar New Year period, and instructed the office to handle the drought with a conservative, but constructive approach.
As the municipalities are to apply second-phase water restrictions on Thursday, Lai called on the office to keep in contact with the Tainan and Kaohsiung municipal governments, as well as Taiwan Water Corp and irrigation associations in the area.
According to the agency’s definition, second-phase water limitations require a 20 percent reduction by non-industrial water users whose consumption exceeds 1,000 units per month — with a unit being 1 tonne — and a 5 percent reduction for industrial users.
Operators of swimming pools, spas and car washes face enforced reductions of 20 percent of their water use under the second-phase restrictions.
“We hope that the stability of water resources available for use across the southern region can be improved by adhering to set policies and impromptu adaptation, civilian restraint in water use and economic use of water in agriculture,” Lai said.
“We have set for ourselves the goal of not entering third-phase water restrictions before the end of May,” he said.
Third-phase restrictions would see a cycle of mandatory interruptions to water services in the region.
Office director general Huang Shih-wei (黃世偉) also called for the public to reduce water use to help during the drought.
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