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.
GENSLER SURVEY: ‘Economic infrastructure is not enough. A city needs to inspire pride, offer moments of joy and foster a sense of belonging,’ the company said Taipei was named the city with the “highest staying power” in the world by US-based design and architecture firm Gensler. The Taiwanese capital earned the top spot among 65 cities across six continents with 64 percent of Taipei respondents in a survey of 33,000 people saying they wanted to stay in the city. Rounding out the top five were Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City (61 percent), Singapore (59 percent), Sydney (58 percent) and Berlin (51 percent). Sixth to 10th place went to Monterrey, Mexico; Munich, Germany; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Vancouver; and Seoul. Cities in the US were ranked separately, with Minneapolis first at
The Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association has cautioned Japanese travelers to be vigilant against pickpockets at several popular tourist spots in Taiwan, including Taipei’s night markets, the Yongkang Street area, Zhongshan MRT Station, and Jiufen (九份) in New Taipei City. The advisory, titled “Recent Development of Concerns,” was posted on the association’s Web site under its safety and emergency report section. It urges travelers to keep backpacks fully zipped and carried in front, with valuables placed at the bottom of the bag. Visitors are advised to be especially mindful of their belongings when taking photos or speaking on the phone, avoid storing wallets and
Scoot announced yesterday that starting in October, it would increase flights between Taipei and Japan’s Narita airport and Hokkaido, and between Singapore and Taipei. The low-cost airline, a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, also said it would launch flights to Chiang Rai in Thailand, Okinawa and Tokyo’s Haneda airport between December and March next year. Flights between Singapore and Chiang Rai would begin on Jan. 1, with five flights per week operated by an Embraer E190-E2 aircraft, Scoot said. Flights between Singapore and Okinawa would begin on Dec. 15, with three flights per week operated by Airbus A320 aircraft, the airline said. Services between Singapore
ENDORSING TAIWAN: Honduran presidential candidate Nasry Afura said that Honduras was ‘100 times better off’ when it was allied with Taipei The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said it would explore the possibility of restoring diplomatic relations with Honduras based on the principle of maintaining national interests and dignity. The ministry made the remarks in response to reporters’ questions regarding an article titled: “Will Taiwan Regain a Diplomatic Ally?” published in The Diplomat on Saturday. The article said Honduras’ presidential election in November could offer Taiwan the chance to regain an ally, as multiple candidates have promoted re-establishing diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Honduras severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan in March 2023 in favor of Beijing, but since switching its diplomatic recognition,
RSS