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Officials say it is too early to predict droughts

"I'm sure that water supplies to industrial and residential sectors in northern Taiwan can be guaranteed until next May."

Hwang Jing-san, director of the Water Resources Agency

It is too early to predict whether there will be a water shortage crisis in Taiwan next year even though water levels in major reservoirs are lower than last year, water resources officials and experts said yesterday.

Recent statistics from the Water Resources Agency (WRA) show that two major reservoirs in northern Taiwan, Feitsui Reservoir and Shihmen Dam, hold just 68 percent and 87 percent, respectively, of the water they had at the same time last year.

In southern Taiwan, Tsengwen Reservoir and Nanhua Reservoir hold 36 percent and 86 percent, respectively, of the water they had last year.

WRA Director Hwang Jing-san (黃金山) said on Thursday that strategies to manage water resources had been carried out since Nov. 1, when water for irrigation use in Taoyuan County was reduced by one-fifth.

To conserve water, Hwang said irrigation water would be reduced to 60 percent of normal, beginning Nov. 11

In addition, Hwang said he had asked the Taipei Water Department to reduce water pressure overnight in Taipei to save resources.

"I'm sure that water supplies to industrial and residential sectors in northern Taiwan can be guaranteed until next May," Hwang said.

In the south, because of the critical shortage at the Tsengwen Reservoir in Tainan County, water supplies to industrial and agricultural sectors have been cut by half, while residential sector supplies were cut by one-fifth.

Officials at the seventh district management department of the Taiwan Water Supply Corp, which is in charge of water distribution in the Kaohsiung area, told the Taipei Times yesterday that the city's water supplies could be guaranteed until the end of the year.

"We don't think the situation is bad enough to worry residents," said Wei Chin-sung (魏金松), department secretary.

According to Wei, residents in Kaohsiung consume 1.6 million tonnes of water from the Kaoping and Tungkang rivers and 100,000 tonnes of water from the Nanhua Reservoir in Tainan County every day.

Officials said more than 111 million tonnes of water was stored at the reservoir, which was sufficient for residents' needs in the south.

Lin I-chen (林意楨), a professor in the department of water resources and environmental engineering at Tamkang University, told the Times that next February's rain would play a crucial role.

"We can't predict the occurrence of a drought next year because global warming makes long range climate prediction, such as rainfall prediction, more difficult," said Lin, adding that the media had overreacted to recent governmental reports on reservoir levels.

Reminding the public of this year's drought, WRA officials yesterday urged residents to save water through the renovation of water pipes and use of water-saving equipment.
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