EPA drafts NT$1bn, three-year Tamsui River clean-up plan

The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) will spend NT$1 billion (US$31.1 million) over the next three years to clean up Tamsui River (淡水河), which runs through the nation's most densely populated area, officials said.

Minister of the EPA Chang Kow-Lung (張國龍) said his staff has drafted a plan to build seven wastewater processing centers and to finish three ecological engineering projects along the river.

EPA statistics show that 12.9 percent of the river is seriously polluted, down from 21.84 percent two years ago. The three-year plan will focus on cleaning up the polluted sections.

Chang said rivers have been badly polluted because of the lack of adequate sewage and waste-processing stations, which has allowed household and farming wastewater to enter rivers.

He urged local governments to budget funds for sewage systems and waste-processing centers.

Premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) has said that increasing sewage and waste-processing facilities improved the water quality of Kaohsiung's Love River (愛河), boosting real estate prices along the riverside as well as city's tourism and leisure sector.