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Taipei ready to turn off the taps

Incessant drizzle over the past month has failed to stave off the next wave of water restrictions in Taipei City and County, which will be implemented tomorrow, the Taipei Water Department yesterday.

The water supply to heavy users, including car-washes, spas, hotels and swimming pools, will be cut by 20 percent and to industrial users by 5 percent -- based on their water consumption during February, March, April and May last year.

Public organizations and schools will be asked to stop unnecessary use of water for the next four months. Hospitals and medical centers are excluded from the news measures, according to Taipei Water Department official Chen Pai-ken (陳培根).

Those who violate the regulations will be first warned and then have their water supply suspended for one day if they continue to use too much water, Chen said yesterday.

The first stage of water rationing, which was a cut in water pressure last month, failed to offset the effects of limited rainfall, Chen said.

Chen said the measures would not affect residents' daily lives.

However, nearly 600 heavy water users -- who had their water cut for several weeks in the summer of 2002 -- crowded into a meeting held at the Taipei Water Department yesterday to complain that it was not fair to base ration amounts on last year's consumption.

"It was the period of the SARS outbreak and most of us had bad business. Water consumption was low," said one spa hotel owner from Chungho. "Now the business has become better but the government has started water rationing."

One car-wash owner suggested that the water department dredge the reservoirs to allow them to hold more water.

Chen promised those businesses to deal with their problems case by case but urged owners to understand the situation and economize on water during the dry season.

Kuo Ray-hwa (郭瑞華), director of the Taipei Water Department, apologized to the business owners and said the department would call every business to better understand their needs.
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