"The government carried out the project to ensure water demand for the Sixth Naphtha Cracker (
Activists told Wu that a fish ladder built to improve fish spawning and migration along the weir was entirely a construction to quiet voices from conservation circles.
When visiting the construction, Wu discovered that the fish ladder, costing NT$200 million, was dry because all the water had been diverted to an industrial complex downstream.
"Obviously, the fish ladder has turned out to be an ornament," Wu said.
Chen Shen-hsien (陳伸賢), a spokesman for the Water Resources Agency, said that Wu's voice deserves to be heard because he stands for water conservation.
Chen said construction projects carried out years ago relied heavily on cement because of the material was inexpensive.
"We now are doing our best to remedy existing mistakes by beautifying them with ecological efforts," Chen said.
Chen, who just visited Chi-Chi Weir weeks ago, said the effectiveness the fish ladder had been evaluated.
Chen said the fish ladder cost millions of dollars rather than NT$200 million, as claimed in his book.
This year NT$30 million will be spent adjusting the slope in order to protect native species, Chen said.
Wu said that people are fed up with promises from the government.
"What I care about is whether future generations will be able to see the beauty I see today," Wu said.
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