The northern half of the nation remained mainly rain-free yesterday despite heavy rain warnings issued by the Central Weather Bureau. But the worsening silt deposition problem at Shihmen Dam, Taoyuan County, might not hamper the government's efforts to restore drinkable water supplies in the county by tomorrow, the Water Resources Agency (WRA) said.
Forecasters yesterday said that heavy rain might fall in mountainous areas today, and reminded residents of the potential threat of mudslides and flooding.
PHOTO: LU SHU-CHING, TAIPEI TIMES
Since Typhoon Aere late last month washed substantial amounts of silt, soil, mud, driftwood and other debris from the mountains into the reservoir's upstream areas, additional rainfalls would complicate matters, especially for the residents of Taoyuan County, who have had water services suspended for the past 10 days.
WRA officials estimated that the reservoir now holds about 20 million meters3 of silt and debris. That is about 14 times the amount the reservoir absorbs in an average year -- about 1.4 million meters3 of silt. Water intakes at the bottom of the reservoir therefore malfunctioned, leading to the suspension of the water supply in southern Taoyuan. Officials said that the reservoir's lifespan would be significantly shortened by at least seven years.
To temporarily meet the water demands of Taoyuan, WRA technicians are pumping untreated water to treatment facilities.
WRA Director-General Chen Shen-hsien (陳伸賢) told the Taipei Times that pumping stations would be up and running at full capacity by today.
"It can be ensured that the people affected by the water suspension will have access to water by Thursday," Chen said.
WRA officials said that the three pumping stations will send 300,000 tonnes of treated water from the reservoir to temporarily meet water demand of residents in southern Taoyuan.
Chen said that temporary facilities would be used for until permanent water treatment facilities are finished being built in March of next year. Officials noted, however, that completely new facilities might not be necessary.
"If the silt problem can be solved, we might not need to build new permanent facilities at the reservoir," Chen said.
In addition, the reservoir is a source of water for part of Hsinchu and other areas in Taipei County.
According to the state-run Taiwan Water Supply Corp, more than 1,100 temporary water stations are available to residents owing to the emergency. Furthermore, as many as 88 water trucks would be brought in to help those people facing the water shortage.
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