With Typhoon Goni approaching, the Taipei City Government yesterday urged residents of Taipei and New Taipei City to store water in advance, as water supplies are to be cut off if raw water turbidity reaches 12,000 nephelometric turbidity units (NTU).
The announcement followed an updated standard operation procedure published by the Taipei Water Department on Thursday to avoid murky tap water caused by typhoons from being supplied to the two special municipalities.
The city’s water purification plants are to decrease the amount of water processed when raw water turbidity reaches 6,000 NTU and is to cease processing water if turbidity levels reach 12,000 NTU, the agency said.
Department Commissioner Chen Chin-hsiang (陳錦祥) said that water pressure decreases and suspension would start with districts in New Taipei City’s outskirts — including Banqiao (板橋), Lujhou (蘆洲), Shenkeng (深坑), Sinjhuang (新莊), Taishan (泰山) and Wugu (五股), which would experience low water pressure if water to purification plants is reduced.
If water supplies are completely suspended, affected areas would extend to New Taipei City’s Jhonghe (中和), Yonghe (永和), Sijih (汐止) and Sindian (新店) districts, as well as Taipei’s Shilin (士林), Tianmu (天母), Beitou (北投) and Wenshan (文山) districts, he said, adding that residents who live in buildings without a water tower would likely run out of water first.
If water supplies are suspended for 24 hours, 1.53 million households and businesses in Taipei and New Taipei City — with or without water towers — would run out of tap water, he said.
Chen said that if water supplies are cut off for six hours, they can be resumed within three hours, but if they are suspended for 24 hours, people would have to wait at least 48 hours before water supplies return to normal, adding that those who live at higher altitudes and in areas near the end of pipelines might have to wait longer.
Chen said that people can visit community water stations in parks when water supplies are cut off, and urged the public to store water in advance of Typhoon Goni.
The city government is also to deploy water tankers to replenish water at makeshift water stations.
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