Intergovernmental efforts since 2018 have substantially cleared the Jhuoshui River (濁水溪) of fugitive dust, an environmental problem that has plagued residents in central Taiwan for more than a century, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.
Remediation work began as an Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) project to reduce air pollution, but became a three-year program after then-premier William Lai (賴清德) in 2018 conducted an inspection in Yunlin County’s Lunbei Township (崙背). The river forms the township’s northern border.
A mix of methods has been employed to combat fugitive dust — which is very small particles, primarily from soil, suspended in the air, including laying hay along what were then the bare banks of the river, planting grass and other vegetation, and developing an irrigation system to water parched areas, Water Resources Agency Director-General Lai Chien-hsin (賴建信) told a news conference at the Executive Yuan in Taipei.
Agency statistics show that incidents of fugitive dust have declined by about 50 percent, from 59 times in 2017 to 50 in 2018 and 29 last year, Lai said.
The improved air quality has benefited local fishers who dry caviar outdoors, while improved soil in floodplains in the area has prevented watermelon harvests from being washed away, he said.
The improvements resulted from a collaboration of the Executive Yuan, the EPA, the Forestry Bureau, the Water Resources Agency, the Fourth River Management Office and local residents, he said.
About 15,000 workers and vehicles were involved in the remediation project, which has cost the government NT$1.16 billion (US$39.19 million at the current exchange rate), he said.
Fugitive dust along the river is worst in winter, when the northeasterly wind from China picks up, Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Tseng Wen-sheng (曾文生) said.
Another three-year project would be started to continue improving the problem along the river, Tseng said.
Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said that the problem — which is exacerbated by bare ground alongside rivers — dates back more than 300 years.
People who live near the river no longer have to “eat rice mixed with sand” or worry about hanging their clothes outside, Su said.
Su praised all of the groups involved in the work and said that determination coupled with the right solutions can solve even age-old woes.
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