The public will be able to test the quality of the water in streams and lakes this month using US-made kits as part of a worldwide drive to improve water quality.
The scheme was prompted by the upcoming World Water Monitoring Day on Oct. 18.
Working with America's Clean Water Foundation and the International Water Association, the US Environmental Protection Agency this year will upgrade its water-quality monitoring activities to a global platform. People around the world are being urged to test the quality of their streams, lakes, wetlands and coastal waters.
At a press conference held by Taiwan's Environmental Protection Agency yesterday, officials said Taiwan's participation will allow the nation's achievements in water-quality protection to be seen by the whole world.
Hsiao Hui-chuan (蕭慧娟), director-general of the EPA's Bureau of Environmental Monitoring and Data Processing, said that the monitoring would be completed by Oct. 18, and results would be published on a Web site by the end of November.
"The global Web site will be an ideal place for other countries to learn about the water quality in Taiwan," said.
More than 2,000 students, teachers and community volunteers will be supplied with inexpensive and easy-to-use test kits. Monitors will be in charge of examining a core set of water-quality parameters including temperature, turbidity (clarity), acidity (pH level) and dissolved oxygen.
The EPA bought 200 test kits produced by America's Clean Water Foundation for the project. Each kit can test 50 samples of water.
"Most monitoring sites picked will be close to the EPA's monitoring stations in order to make a comparison," EPA Deputy Administrator Chang Chu-en (張祖恩) said.
Officials said that Taiwanese rarely think about personal participation in testing water quality because it had been a task carried out by professional labs for decades.
The EPA monitors water quality in 83 rivers by reading data collected by 301 monitoring stations.
World Water Monitoring Day 2003 is a follow-up of the US National Water Monitoring Day, held by America's Clean Water Foundation last year to mark the 30th Anniversary of the Clean Water Act. More than 75,000 Americans participated in monitoring events and educational programs throughout the US.
To educate the public on global water resources, the US is encouraging other countries to share their experiences of water quality monitoring this year.
EPA officials said that the monitoring might be expanded next year in order to mark the 30th anniversary of the Water Pollution Control Act (水污染防治法).
Taiwan must first strengthen its own national defense to deter a potential invasion by China as cross-strait tensions continue to rise, multiple European lawmakers said on Friday. In a media interview in Taipei marking the conclusion of an eight-member European parliamentary delegation’s six-day visit to Taiwan, the lawmakers urged Taipei to remain vigilant and increase defense spending. “All those who claim they want to protect you actually want to conquer you,” Ukrainian lawmaker Serhii Soboliev said when asked what lessons Taiwan could draw from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Soboliev described the Kremlin as a “new fascist Nazi regime” that justified
The US House of Representatives yesterday passed the PROTECT Taiwan Act, which stipulates that Washington would exclude China from participating in major global financial organizations if its actions directly threaten Taiwan’s security. The bill, proposed by Republican US Representative Frank Lucas, passed with 395 votes in favor and two against. It stipulates that if China’s actions pose any threat to Taiwan’s security, economic or social systems, the US would, “to the maximum extent practicable,” exclude China from international financial institutions, including the G20, the Bank for International Settlements and the Financial Stability Board. The bill makes it clear that China
‘T-DOME’: IBCS would increase Taiwan’s defense capabilities, enabling air defense units to use data from any sensor system and cut reaction time, a defense official said A defense official yesterday said that a purported new arms sale the US is assembling for Taiwan likely includes Integrated Battle Command Systems (IBCS). The anonymous official’s comments came hours after the Financial Times (FT) reported that Washington is preparing a US$20 billion arms sale encompassing “Patriot missiles and other weapons,” citing eight sources. The Taiwanese official said the IBCS is an advanced command and control system that would play a key role in President William Lai’s (賴清德) flagship defense program, the “T-Dome,” an integrated air defense network to counter ballistic missiles and other threats. The IBCS would increase Taiwan’s
NOMINAL NEWLYWEDS: A man’s family and his wife — his long-term caregiver — are engaged in a legal dogfight over the propriety and validity of the recent union A centenarian’s marriage to his caregiver unbeknownst to his children has prompted legal action, as the caregiver accuses the man’s children of violating her personal liberty and damaging her reputation, while the children have sought a legal option to have the marriage annulled. According to sources, the 102-year-old man surnamed Wang (王) lives in Taipei’s Zhongshan District (中山) and previously worked as a land registration agent. Wang reportedly owns multiple properties and parcels of land worth several hundred million New Taiwan dollars and has ten children. His caregiver, a 69-year-old surnamed Lai (賴), has been caring for him since about 1999,
RSS