The Shihmen Reservoir in Taoyuan County could impose stricter rationing on water supplies if reserves continue to dwindle, water resource officials said on Tuesday.
Chien Chao-chun (簡昭群), deputy director of the North Water Resources Bureau, said the bureau would recommend strict controls for water distribution if reserves fell to 45 percent of capacity.
The reservoir holds 108 million cubic meters of water — about 50 percent of capacity. As of 5pm on Tuesday, the water level stood at 230.65m — not far from the 220m level considered “dangerously low.”
The reservoir is now taking in about 400,000m³ per day, Chien said. Since Sunday, the amount of water it supplies daily was reduced from 2.8 million square meters to 2.28 million square meters following the recent dry spell.
Northern regions have seen little rain in the past 110 days.
Precipitation in the first two months of this year was one-fifth the average seen in previous years for the same period.
Water provided by the reservoir for agricultural use could be reduced by as much as 50 percent and some farmland could be left fallow as part of a rationing policy, Chien said.
Water for general household use has already been reduced by 10 percent, he said.
The Shihmen Reservoir provides water to 13 townships in Taoyuan County, as well as some townships in Taipei and Hsinchu counties.
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