City mulls stricter rationing

Taipei City may toughen its water restrictions at the end of July if more rainfall does not come by the middle of the month, Taipei City Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said yesterday. If sufficient rain does not come by mid-July, Ma said that the water level at the Feitsui Reservoir (翡翠水庫) -- the city's main source of water -- would fall to around 114m, roughly 4m above "dead storage" level, the point below which water must be pumped out of the reservoir. "By then, stricter water rationing, in which water is cut off twice a week, would have to be imposed," Ma was quoted as saying by the semi-official Central News Agency. Water is currently cut off from households once a week in the city. As of noon yesterday, the water level at the Feitsui Reservoir was 120m.