Timely plum rains have significantly alleviated a historic water shortage in Taiwan, allowing water restriction measures to be lifted in some areas, while the hardest-hit areas remain on alert, the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) said yesterday.
“Thanks to Tropical Storm Choi-Wan, the sustained plum rains and continued water resource management efforts, the water situation in Taiwan has been greatly alleviated,” Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua (王美華) told an online news conference.
More than 100mm of rain has fallen in the catchment areas of the reservoirs in Miaoli and Taichung counties over the past few days, Water Resources Agency data showed.
Photo: Wu Chun-feng, Taipei Times
Before the seasonal plum rains arrived late last month, Taiwan had gone almost a year without significant rainfall in the catchment areas of reservoirs.
Early this year, the nation turned to alternate sources of water, such as an emergency desalination plant in Hsinchu County and a pipeline between Taoyuan and Hsinchu, as well as emergency wells and other unconventional sources of water, to ensure industrial production continues unhindered.
Still, some areas in central Taiwan were placed under “red alert,” meaning that households and businesses received water only five days a week.
Nantou County and Kaohsiung, which were on “yellow alert,” or reduced water pressure overnight, are now back to normal, the ministry said.
Southern Changhua County and Yunlin County are on “green alert,” the lowest level of warning with no water restrictions, it said.
“Green alert” industrial users are required to reduce daily water consumption by 5 percent, it added.
Taoyuan, Tainan and Taichung, as well as Hsinchu, Miaoli, Chiayi counties and northern Changhua County, remain on “orange alert,” with water pressure reduced overnight and daily water restrictions for large users, the ministry said.
Large industrial users in these areas have to reduce daily water consumption by 7 percent, while non-industrial large users, such as car washes, need to reduce consumption by 10 percent, it said.
The water shortage was exacerbated by silt buildup in the nation’s reservoirs, reducing their overall usable capacity, the Water Resources Agency said.
The government has made maximum use of the low water levels to clear more than 10 million cubic meters of silt from reservoirs, the largest volume removed in the past few years, the agency said.
The latest rains raised the levels in many reservoirs, but did not fill all of them, meaning Taiwan is not out of the woods, it said.
With the possibility of more stormy weather, the agency is simultaneously preparing for drought relief and flood relief, it added.
DIVIDED VIEWS: Although the Fed agreed on holding rates steady, some officials see no rate cuts for this year, while 10 policymakers foresee two or more cuts There are a lot of unknowns about the outlook for the economy and interest rates, but US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled at least one thing seems certain: Higher prices are coming. Fed policymakers voted unanimously to hold interest rates steady at a range of 4.25 percent to 4.50 percent for a fourth straight meeting on Wednesday, as they await clarity on whether tariffs would leave a one-time or more lasting mark on inflation. Powell said it is still unclear how much of the bill would fall on the shoulders of consumers, but he expects to learn more about tariffs
NOT JUSTIFIED: The bank’s governor said there would only be a rate cut if inflation falls below 1.5% and economic conditions deteriorate, which have not been detected The central bank yesterday kept its key interest rates unchanged for a fifth consecutive quarter, aligning with market expectations, while slightly lowering its inflation outlook amid signs of cooling price pressures. The move came after the US Federal Reserve held rates steady overnight, despite pressure from US President Donald Trump to cut borrowing costs. Central bank board members unanimously voted to maintain the discount rate at 2 percent, the secured loan rate at 2.375 percent and the overnight lending rate at 4.25 percent. “We consider the policy decision appropriate, although it suggests tightening leaning after factoring in slackening inflation and stable GDP growth,”
Greek tourism student Katerina quit within a month of starting work at a five-star hotel in Halkidiki, one of the country’s top destinations, because she said conditions were so dire. Beyond the bad pay, the 22-year-old said that her working and living conditions were “miserable and unacceptable.” Millions holiday in Greece every year, but its vital tourism industry is finding it harder and harder to recruit Greeks to look after them. “I was asked to work in any department of the hotel where there was a need, from service to cleaning,” said Katerina, a tourism and marketing student, who would
i Gasoline and diesel prices at fuel stations are this week to rise NT$0.1 per liter, as tensions in the Middle East pushed crude oil prices higher last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. International crude oil prices last week rose for the third consecutive week due to an escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, as the market is concerned that the situation in the Middle East might affect crude oil supply, CPC and Formosa said in separate statements. Front-month Brent crude oil futures — the international oil benchmark — rose 3.75 percent to settle at US$77.01
RSS