Government officials yesterday said that the technology sector in Hsinchu County has enough water for now, before touting water supply diversification as the solution to the county’s long-term needs.
Hsinchu County Deputy Commissioner Chen Chien-hsien (陳見賢) and Deputy Minister of the Interior Hua Ching-chun (花敬群) made the remarks after inspecting the Jhubei (竹北) Water Recycling Center in Hsinchu.
Chen said that the Jhubei center and the county’s other water reclamation center in Zhudong Township (竹東) are working well after the county government ordered them to increase the efficiency of their operations.
Photo: Liao Hsueh-ju, Taipei Times
The Jhubei center’s reservoir is at capacity, so the county government has asked the Ministry of the Interior to subsidize a second phase of construction to expand the facility by the end of next year, he said.
The expansion would increase the amount of water the center can process per day, which could then be used by manufacturers, he said.
There is enough water to supply Hsinchu “for now,” and the central government is making it its responsibility to ensure the county’s valuable tech sector does not run out of water, Hua said.
As for the area’s long-term water needs, the central government intends to diversify its water supply sources through a multi-ministerial effort involving the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Economic Affairs, among others, Hua said.
The Ministry of the Interior hopes that recycling will provide the “life-saving” water resources that would help the county’s industries and households through shortages, she said.
The government has recently opened a desalination facility in Hsinchu City to provide water for household use, she added.
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