The water supply in southern Tainan County has dropped to a dangerously low level as a result of sustained dry weather over the past few months, the Central Weather Bureau reported yesterday.
Tsengwen Reservoir -- Tai-wan's largest -- is facing a record 30-year low, with a water level at only 172m as of Thursday, which is only 1.2m away from the minimum level at which the reservoir can maintain normal operation.
At present, the reservoir holds about 5.2 million m3 of water.
Although there was rain the previous night in the Tainan area -- 20.5mm in Tainan City and 43.5mm in Tainan County -- the amount was nowhere near sufficient to bring relief to reservoirs in the region.
At the same time, the water level at nearby Wushantou Reservoir stood at 44.87m, representing a reserve of only 9.57 million m3.
The situation is better at the Nanhua Reservoir, which supplies water to greater Chiayi and Kaohsiung, with a water level at 163.52m -- representing more than 66 million m3.
Nanhua reservoir authorities said that normal water supplies were expected to last through next month before being restocked in typhoon season in June or July.
Taiwan has been troubled by an extended dry spell in recent years, with northern regions most affected.
However, rainfall from late January to early February brought some relief.
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