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Drought looming in south, Penghu

Disappointing rainfall in southern Taiwan and in offshore counties suggests that the government might be required to take precautions against impending drought in the summer, especially if the plum rains next month fail to bring abundant precipitation.

The Ministry of Economic Affairs reviewed the water-supply situation at a meeting yesterday. According to the ministry's Water Resources Agency, normal rainfalls in northern Taiwan over the last four months have ensured adequate water supplies.

Officials said that Feitsaui Reservoir in Taipei County is at 78 percent of capacity. Shihman Dam in Taoyuan County is at 48 percent of capacity.

Agency officials say that water supplies in northern and central Taiwan can be counted on through the end of June.

However, water levels at two major reservoirs in the south -- Tsengwen and Wushantou in Tainan County -- have both reached 30-year lows.

Although the 45 million tonnes of water currently on hand in those reservoirs might be sufficient for both the residential and industrial sectors until the end of June, officials said that there might not be sufficient water for irrigation in July.

"We have to hope for good plum rains in May. In the south, the months from May through October account for 90 percent of annual rainfall," Chen Shen-hsien (陳伸賢), director-general of the agency, said.

Chen said that he would instruct irrigation associations in southern counties to postpone the planting of rice seedlings until the end of June in order to preserve water for other uses.

Chen said that agricultural land has never before been left unplanted in May because plum rains have always brought enough rainfall.

Chen said that rainfall in the south last year was 111.5mm in May and 825.4mm in June, which made it possible to scrap plans that then existed for leaving some fields unplanted.

Meanwhile, agency officials said that rainfall in offshore counties remains worrisome. At the meeting yesterday, it was decided that stricter water restrictions would be put in place Saturday on Wangan Island, an islet that is part of Penghu County.

Hsian Reservoir in Wangan is expected to be empty by early June. Officials say that increasing water consumption there can be attributed to, among other causes, tourism in the summer and naval activities.

Water demand in Penghu County is already being met by a water transfer project. According to the agency, 3,300 tonnes of water is transferred daily from Taiwan.
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