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River will be killed, councilor says

The only river in Taichung that could be classified as clean water might soon be ruined by industrial wastewater that will flow from a plannned science-based industrial park, a city council member warned yesterday.

The Fatzu River, which passes through the city from north to south, might become like other rivers in the area that have been killed by pollution, independent Councilor Ho Wen-hai (何文海) said.

The grim prospect for the river originates from the city government's plan to use the river as the outlet for wastewater from the science-based industrial park that is to be built here.

"Although the Fatzu River has the cleanest water in the city, it has already suffered certain pollution, especially in the downstream area. The pollution comes from factories in three existing industrial zones," Ho said.

"The condition might worsen because of the opening of the science-based industrial park," he said.

Ho made the warning yesterday during an interpellation session of the City Council. He brought up the question with city government officials at the site, but he did not demand an immediate answer from the officials. "The city government should not compromise the environment just for a promise of an NT$200 billion investment from a company," he said.

The company Ho referred to is AU Optronics, which has recently announced it will invest more than NT$200 billion in the production of TFT-LCD computer monitors at the Taichung Industrial Park.

In response, the municipal bureau for environmental protection told reporters that the Fatzu River might suffer pollution during the initial stages of the park's development, but that pollution would be kept under currently accepted levels worked out by the authorities concerned.

"The pollution would be reduced to minimum levels after construction of a wastewater pipeline for the park is completed," an official with the bureau said.
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