A fee for the excess use of water is expected to be implemented next year, with collection to begin in 2017, targeting businesses that consume in excess of 1,000 units of water per month, the Executive Yuan said yesterday.
One unit of water is equivalent to 1,000 liters, as defined by state-run Taiwan Water Corp.
The petrochemical, base metal, chemicals, electronics and textiles industries, as well as car washes and spa resorts, could be subject to fees, the government said.
The Executive Yuan’s decision, hoping to amend regulations on the use of water resources, comes as the nation is suffering its most severe drought in a decade.
Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Yang Wei-fu (楊偉甫) said the fees would only apply to entities using more than 1,000 units of water per month.
However, for the time being, the ministry is planning to exempt government facilities, schools, hospitals and congregate housing.
There will be three ranges of penalties, with consumption of more than 1,000 units but less than 3,000 units incurring an additional 10 percent of the original cost. Use between 3,000 units and 6,000 units will incur a 20 percent penalty, and consumption of more than 6,000 units will incur a 30 percent penalty, the ministry said.
By the same token, any company that significantly reduces its water consumption would receive similar percentages off their water bill, with a maximum discount of 60 percent, the ministry said.
The policy is expected to affect 5,742 users nationwide, and bring in an estimated NT$1.6 billion (US$50 million) per year, Yang said, adding that even if major water users met lowered water usage standards, the government is still looking to receive NT$600 million in additional income.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co is possibly the biggest consumer of water in the nation, but its efforts to recycle water could pay off in the form of reduced water bills, Yang said.
Funds drawn from the collection of the fee will not go directly into national coffers, but will be held in a foundation to support expenses for pipe maintenance and subsidies for the agriculture sector during droughts, Yang said.
It is essentially a sort of “water insurance,” Yang said.
Meanwhile, Tainan Mayor William Lai (賴清德), Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊), Taichung Mayor Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) and Taoyuan Mayor Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) provided input on the central government’s decision to cut irrigation of farmlands by half.
Cheng suggested a revision of the Council of Agriculture’s subsidy policies to farmers electing to allow their farmland to lay fallow, saying that agricultural providers should have additional subsidies.
Premier Mao Chi-kuo (毛治國) referred the comment to the council, asking it to consider the viability of the suggestion.
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