Taipei residents in Neihu and Nankang say water-rationing measures have been harsher in their districts compared to other parts of the city, with services in some cases cut off for as long as 36 hours.
Taipei City last week implemented tough water controls, with services shut off to parts of the city for 24 hours on a rotating basis.
But Neihu and Nankang residents say they have had to endure far longer periods without water -- a problem city officials yesterday vowed to fix.
KMT City Councilor Wu Shih-cheng (
"A Neihu resident called me on Thursday to say that his water supply had been cut off for more than 36 hours," Wu said.
Officials from the Taipei Water Department believe services to Neihu and Nankang took longer to restore because of low water pressure in the areas.
Neihu was without water on Wednesday, and Nankang was shut off on Thursday.
Because of the high elevation of the districts and their location at the end of water mains, the water pressure in Neihu and Nankang is lower compared to other parts of the city, officials said.
Wu said the Taipei Water Department should do something so that Neihu and Nankang residents aren't unfairly affected by water rationing.
Hsu Pei-chung (
Hsu also blamed residents, saying low water pressure is, in part, the result of excess air in water pipes, which is caused by residents leaving their faucets open after water is cut off.
When services are restored, water moves slowly through the pipes because of the excess air.
"To solve the problem, we'll send out our technicians to these areas to bleed the air in the pipes as much as possible before the water supply is restored at 4am," Hsu said.
In related news, officials at the Feitsui Reservoir said water levels continued to drop yesterday.
As of 10am yesterday, the water level at the reservoir was 126m, or 16m above "dead storage" level, below which water must be pumped out.
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