Premier Yu Shyi-kun's biggest headache right now is not one of politics, it is a lack of water. The Hsinchu Science-based Industrial Park, the bastion of Taiwan's high-tech economy, may have to halve -- or even halt -- operations because of a water shortage.
Central Taiwan is facing its most serious drought in half a century. Rainfall from the winter of 2000/2001 up until now is just one-third of that in the same period in previous years. Northern Taiwan is also suffering from a lack of rain. Reservoirs in Taoyuan and Hsinchu counties are drying up. The drought is not only forcing farmers to leave their land fallow and the government to limit water supplies to the agricultural sector but will lead to a shortfall in the 120,000-tones per day water requirement of the science park. If a water shortage forces plants in the park to halt operations it will be a major blow to Taiwan's economy and disrupt the electronics industry around the world.
But the situation should not have been allowed to deteriorate to the point where farmers are fighting for water with the Taiwan Water Supply Corporation (
Water resources never used to be a big problem for Taiwan, but the rapid growth of industry, population and urbanization in recent years has put a severe strain on Taiwan's water table. With the Central Mountain Range straddling the island, Taiwan has short rivers with speedy water flows. Accumulating water is not easy. Rampant destruction of mountain slopes has also eroded soil in catchment areas. Several major earthquakes have also loosened the soil and affected the capacity of mountain slopes and forest areas to hold water.
Add to that the increasingly varied weather patterns -- caused by El Nino or global warming or whatever -- and water resources management has become a serious problem.
In addition, a lot of water is wasted. Taiwan's utility systems are old and leakage in the pipelines is a serious problem. People must also learn to stop taking water for granted and begin thinking of it as a precious resource.
The government must improve its management of water resources. One important step would be to stress reforestation in catchment areas and the restoration of mountain slopes ability to retain water. Reservoirs will then be able to accumulate more water as water flow into the sea is delayed. Anti-pollution efforts to protect the nation's rivers, lakes and other water resources are also needed.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs should coordinate with the Central Weather Bureau, the Council of Agriculture and the Taiwan Water Supply Corporation to set up an early-warning system to alert the public to be frugal with water before abnormal climatic conditions can create a crisis. The government should also restructure its priority usage system to give the industrial sector priority over the agricultural and aquacultural sectors so that water re-sources can be put to the most effective use. The ministry should also create emergency plans to divert water to areas facing serious shortages in order to limit economic repercussions.
Water shortages are as much a man-made disaster as a natural one. Apart from praying to the heavens for rain, there is much the people of Taiwan can do to alleviate the problem. Taipei City has agreed to divert 100,000 tons of water to drought-affected areas. It is time the public began to do their part by reducing water consumption.
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