Taoyuan County and New Taipei City’s (新北市) Linkou District (林口) yesterday implemened water rationing due to below-average rainfall since the beginning of this year and a typhoon season that ended earlier than usual last year, officials said.
The rationing is only meant to trim the overnight water supply and is not expected to impact public use, officials said.
Water supply is being controlled due to lower than average rainfall at Shimen Reservoir (石門水庫), which supplies water to Taoyuan County and parts of New Taipei City and Hsinchu County.
The reservoir received only 10 percent of the average rainfall last month, Water Resources Agency official Chien Chao-chun (簡昭群) said.
The agency also attributed the supply shortfall to a typhoon season, the most important source of rain for Taiwan, which ended earlier than usual last year.
If the shortfall continues, further rationing may be needed, but it is expected to be eased by the usually abundant rainfall during the plum rain season in May, Chien said.
The prospect of similar rationing is also looming in the south, with Greater Kaohsiung likely to be the first southern city to see its water supply reduced at night.
Greater Tainan could be next, if the expected rainfall during the plum rain season does not arrive, the agency said.
The agency said rainfall in Chiayi, Greater Tainan and Greater Kaohsiung in January and last month was only 20 percent of the average.
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