MOEA to discuss drought relief

Officials of the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) yesterday urged residents to consume less water, saying that Taiwan was still threatened by drought. Whether Taiwan needs to further ration water will be decided on Thursday at a meeting on managing the crisis, they said.

Minister for Economic Affairs Lin Yi-fu (林義夫) said yesterday that the ministry can only ensure normal water supplies until the end of May.

"Now we are afraid that rainfall in May might disappoint us," he said.

The Water Resources Agency (WRA) under the MOEA said yesterday it was concerned about low water levels at several major reservoirs, including the reservoir at the Shihmen Dam (石門水庫) in Taoyuan County and the Nanhua Reservoir (南化水庫) in Tainan County.

Officials of Taiwan Water Supply Corp (TWSC) said that the daily water supply from the Nanhua Reservoir had fallen from 600,000 tonnes at normal times to 480,000 tonnes yesterday.

Beginning tomorrow, TWSC officials said, the daily water supply from the Nanhua Reservoir would be further reduced to 450,000 tonnes.

TWSC officials said that normal water supplies to families in southern Taiwan could only be assured to the end of May.

The water crisis in northern Taiwan is even worse. Taipei City Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday reiterated the importance of water conservation.

"It's inevitable for the city to impose further water-rationing measures," Ma said.

In Taipei County, where residents suffered an unexpected suspension of water supplies last week, plastic tanks for water storage are on sale for NT$10 to NT$20 more than before.

Chen Shen-hsien (陳伸賢), the WRA's spokesman and deputy director, said yesterday the agency had considered more water-rationing measures but that a final decision would not be made until Thursday.

Chen said that the low price of water in Taiwan had led people to squander the resource. He urged the public to abandon the habit of wasting water.

According to the Cabinet's Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (主計處), the average price for each unit of tap water in Taiwan was about NT$10.1, which is lower than Tokyo's NT$65; London's NT$33; Paris' NT$26; and Singapore's of between NT$24 and NT$38.

The WRA has considered raising the price of water for industrial uses from November to April. It said the new water rate might be imposed as soon as November this year.

To save more water, the WRA yesterday urged residents to take shorter showers, keep faucets off when brushing their teeth, save used water for cleaning floors and to replace leaky equipment.

For tips on conserving water, see the WRA's Web site at http://www.wra.gov.tw