The Taipei Water Department yesterday came under fire over what critics said was confusing information provided by a telephone hotline that it established so that residents could find out if the water supplied to their homes comes through lead piping.
Taipei City Councilor Hsieh Wei-chou (謝維洲), a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) member, said that he made three telephone calls to the hotline before he could get an answer about the water supply to his service center on Fuguo Road in Shilin District (士林), saying that information provided by the department was different each time. He said the hotline was “clumsy.”
He raised the complaint during a question-and-answer session with Taipei Water Department Deputy Commissioner Chen Ming-chou (陳明洲).
Photo: CNA
Hsieh said an investigation by his office found that about 36,000 households nationwide use water carried by lead pipes, including about 17,000 in Taipei, with Zhongzheng (中正), Wanhua (萬華), Datong (大同) and Daan (大安) districts identified as having a high concentration of lead pipes.
The investigation showed that Taipei residents living along 605 road sections, spanning about 107km, use water supplied from lead pipes.
Hsieh played a recording of a telephone call he made to the department, in which an official told him the agency was unable to determine from an online map whether pipes running to his service center were made of lead, and that an answer to Hsieh’s query would require an “on-site inspection.”
He asked Chen how Taipei residents are supposed to ascertain whether the water they use is safe and if the department could publish a map detailing road sections where lead pipes are in use.
The department had misled Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) into believing that an extra NT$2 billion (US$61.2 million) is needed to replace lead pipes with stainless steel ones, as the city had already earmarked NT$20 billion to renovate pipelines.
Ko has proposed increasing water prices, starting next year, to raise funds to replace the pipes.
Hsieh said the city’s water quality is suffering and Ko should postpone hiking water rates until improvements in the water quality are made.
Chen said the department has had difficulty in gathering data on where lead pipes were laid because they were installed before 1979 and that has created problems with misinformation.
The department had gathered as much information as it could over the past two days for a Web page scheduled to go live at midnight tonight so that residents can look up their area to see if their water supply might be contaminated with lead, Chen said.
Residents accessing the site — www.water.gov.taipei — would need to enter a code that appears on their water bills for their search, he said.
The department cannot provide a map on the distribution of lead pipes because it must respect residents’ rights to privacy, he said, adding that most of the people who contacted the department since news of the lead contamination broke this week said they did not want their homes marked or identified if lead pipes run through their properties.
The department would update Ko on the budget required to replace the pipes, Chen said.
The department on Wednesday said it would take three years to replace all the lead pipes.
However, a netizen created a Chinese-language Web site — http://kiang.github.io/lead_pipes — using information provided by Hsieh that allows people to look up the lengths of lead pipes and the number of taps connected to such pipes by road section.
Tropical Storm Gaemi strengthened into a typhoon at 2pm yesterday, and could make landfall in Yilan County tomorrow, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The agency was scheduled to issue a sea warning at 11:30pm yesterday, and could issue a land warning later today. Gaemi was moving north-northwest at 4kph, carrying maximum sustained winds near its center of up to 118.8kph and gusts of 154.8kph. The circumference is forecast to reach eastern Taiwan tomorrow morning, with the center making landfall in Yilan County later that night before departing from the north coast, CWA weather forecaster Kuan Shin-ping (官欣平) said yesterday. Uncertainty remains and
SEA WARNING LIKELY: The storm, named Gaemi, could become a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, with the Taipei City Government preparing for flooding A tropical depression east of the Philippines developed into a tropical storm named Gaemi at 2pm yesterday, and was moving toward eastern Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Gaemi could begin to affect Taiwan proper on Tuesday, lasting until Friday, and could develop into a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, it said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued as early as Tuesday morning, it added. Gaemi, the third tropical storm in the Pacific Ocean this typhoon season, is projected to begin moving northwest today, and be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday, the agency said. Today, there would likely
DISRUPTIONS: The high-speed rail is to operate as normal, while several airlines either canceled flights or announced early departures or late arrivals Schools and offices in 15 cities and counties are to be closed today due to Typhoon Gaemi, local governments announced last night. The 15 are: Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Tainan, Keelung, Hsinchu and Kaohsiung, as well as Yilan, Hualien, Hsinchu, Miaoli, Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Lienchiang counties. People should brace for torrential rainfall brought by the storm, with its center forecast to make landfall on the east coast between tonight and tomorrow morning, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The agency issued a sea warning for the typhoon at 11:30pm on Monday, followed by a land warning at 11:30am yesterday. As of
CASUALTY: A 70-year-old woman was killed by a falling tree in Kaohsiung as the premier warned all government agencies to remain on high alert for the next 24 hours Schools and offices nationwide are to be closed for a second day today as Typhoon Gaemi crosses over the nation, bringing torrential rain and whipping winds. Gaemi was forecast to make landfall late last night. From Tuesday night, its outer band brought substantial rainfall and strong winds to the nation. As of 6:15pm last night, the typhoon’s center was 20km southeast of Hualien County, Central Weather Administration (CWA) data showed. It was moving at 19kph and had a radius of 250km. As of 3pm yesterday, one woman had died, while 58 people were injured, the Central Emergency Operation Center said. The 70-year-old