Water supplies to Kaohsiung and Tainan during late night hours were to be cut beginning yesterday, as lower-than-usual rainfall continues to plague the nation, the Water Resources Agency (WRA) announced.
In what it called a “phase one” water rationing measure, the agency flashed a “yellow” alarm over possible water shortages as a result of continuing dry weather that has hit the entire country.
Under the measure, water pressure will be lowered so less water is pumped to reserve tanks or towers in the southern cities from 11pm to 5am, and water for irrigation will also be reduced.
Photo: CNA
Though the measure will not significantly affect industrial and household water usage, Tainan City Economic Development Bureau Director Yeh Hui-ching (葉惠青) urged people to conserve as much water as they could.
Dry weather over the past few days has lowered Nanhua reservoir’s weir flow rate — an indication of how much water is in the basin of water created by the weir — to 10.1 tonnes per second, which is approaching the “warning level” of 9.7 tonnes per second, according to the agency.
Agency Deputy Director-General Wu Yueh-hsi (吳約西) said the Ministry of Economic Affairs will hold a meeting on Monday to review the water situation across the country.
Wu said he expected the government to start “phase two” rationing measures later this month in Changhua, -Taichung, Miaoli, Hsinchu and Taoyuan cities and counties.
Under second-phase water rationing regulations, water will not be supplied to fountains or for such non-urgent uses as street cleaning, and washing building exteriors.
In addition, the supply of water for swimming pools, car washes, saunas and operations that use 1,000m3 or more per month will be cut by 20 percent. The supply to industrial users will be reduced by 5 percent.
First-phase water rationing was introduced in Hsinchu on March 18 and expanded on April 1 to include Taoyuan and Miaoli counties, the Banciao and Sinjhuang districts of New Taipei City (新北市) and Greater Taichung and Changhua County.
In western Taiwan, water supplies are normal only in Yunlin and Chiayi counties, even though the water level at the two major dams in Chiayi has fallen to 25 percent of capacity.
Since late last month, the weather bureau has recorded average rainfall of less than 1mm for Greater Kaohsiung and Greater Tainan, much lower than the 47mm for the same period in previous years, Wu said.
Weather forecasters are not expecting much relief for southern Taiwan in the coming days, he added.
Typically, the plum rain season in Taiwan begins on May 1 and lasts until the end of June, but the Central Weather Bureau has forecast that the rains will arrive later than usual this year.
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
A total lunar eclipse, an astronomical event often referred to as a “blood moon,” would be visible to sky watchers in Taiwan starting just before midnight on Sunday night, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said. The phenomenon is also called “blood moon” due to the reddish-orange hue it takes on as the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, completely blocking direct sunlight from reaching the lunar surface. The only light is refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere, and its red wavelengths are bent toward the moon, illuminating it in a dramatic crimson light. Describing the event as the most important astronomical phenomenon
UNDER PRESSURE: The report cited numerous events that have happened this year to show increased coercion from China, such as military drills and legal threats The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aims to reinforce its “one China” principle and the idea that Taiwan belongs to the People’s Republic of China by hosting celebratory events this year for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the “retrocession” of Taiwan and the establishment of the UN, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in its latest report to the Legislative Yuan. Taking advantage of the significant anniversaries, Chinese officials are attempting to assert China’s sovereignty over Taiwan through interviews with international news media and cross-strait exchange events, the report said. Beijing intends to reinforce its “one China” principle
RSS