More areas across the nation are set to enter phase-one water rationing next week as no relief appears to be in sight for a mounting water shortage, the Water Resources Agency (WRA) said yesterday.
The Greater Kaohsiung and New Taipei City districts of Sinjhuang (新莊) and Banciao (板橋) are set to see reduced water pressure during night hours beginning on Monday next week, the agency said.
New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口) and Taoyuan were the first areas subjected to phase-one rationing on Nov. 27, with Hsinchu and Miaoli counties, Greater Taichung, Greater Tainan and northern Changhua county facing the reduction in water pressure starting yesterday.
In a meeting yesterday, the WRA confirmed that the water needed to irrigate rice paddies during the current planting season has been supplied.
To ensure steady water supply in the long run, responsibility for water shortage response has been moved to the Ministry of Economic Affairs, which plans to hold a meeting tomorrow on fighting the dry spell — the worst in a decade.
The agency said it used artificial measures to increase rainfall at Shihmen Reservoir (石門水庫) and Mingte Reservoir (明德水庫) early yesterday, but they resulted in only limited precipitation that did little to quench the reservoirs’ thirst.
The Central Weather Bureau has forecast a higher chance of rainfall tomorrow night and Thursday. The agency said it has asked reservoir administrators to be ready to proceed with cloud-seeding measures.
Regarding phase-two rationing, the agency said it was closely monitoring rainfall levels and water conservation efforts, and hoped to extend the period of uninterrupted water supply as long as possible through existing rationing and water-saving steps.
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