On Tuesday last week, the Central Emergency Operation Center decided to suspend irrigation for this year’s first crop of rice on about 29,000 hectares of land in Hsinchu County, Miaoli County and central Taiwan.
In addition, starting on Wednesday, the water indicators for the areas were switched from yellow, indicating reduced-pressure water supply, to orange, signifying reduced-quantity water supply.
Ordinary citizens might not notice any difference between the two measures, but major water users requiring more than 1,000m3 of water per month, such as swimming pools, car washes, saunas and spas, would notice. Because industrial and commercial water use is not as flexible as that of agriculture, mandatory water restrictions would cause them inconvenience and losses.
Between November 2015 and the end of February 2016, the Ministry of Economic Affairs allocated NT$5 billion (US$175.7 million) to subsidize the purchase of products bearing government-approved water efficiency labels.
Why not take current shortages as a cue to repeat this subsidy program?
The program could even be adapted so that if the water situation indicator for a particular district turns orange and water is restricted, residents could receive subsidies for buying products bearing water efficiency labels.
While compensating the public for their inconvenience, the measure would achieve greater and longer-lasting reductions in water use.
Amendments to the Water Supply Act (自來水法) stipulated that toilets and washing machines must bear water efficiency labels, meaning that manufacturers and vendors can only sell them if they have been approved to bear the labels.
Any business that markets unlabeled products can be fined and ordered to upgrade its products within a specified period. Those who fail to perform the upgrade can be fined per offense.
Thanks to this regulation, toilets and washing machines on the market today all bear water efficiency labels. However, considering the price of such fixtures and appliances relative to the price of water, why would people replace their existing toilets and washing machines with new ones, if they still work and no incentive is offered?
Washing machines, in particular, are relatively easy to replace, so a subsidy of a few thousand New Taiwan dollars would be an effective way of encouraging people to replace old machines.
There need not be a flat rate of NT$2,000 per item, like the previous subsidies. The subsidies could be different for toilets and washing machines, and even for products with different grades of water efficiency.
Washing machines account for about one-quarter of the amount of water that people use in their daily lives, but washing machines with water efficiency labels use 30 percent less water, while those bearing a gold grade label use up to 50 percent less.
Gold-graded products cost more, but they are more water efficient, so they should be more heavily subsidized.
The authorities could kill two birds with one stone by taking advantage of this dry period, when people need to use water sparingly, to offer them subsidies for changing to water-saving products.
As well as incentivizing the public and demonstrating the government’s determination to promote water conservation, a subsidy program would promote the development of products that substantially reduce people’s water use.
Chang Yen-ming is a former section chief of the Water Resources Agency and author of a book about Taiwan’s reservoirs.
Translated by Julian Clegg
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