First-stage water rationing measures already in place in parts of the country with depleted reservoirs will likely be maintained until the end of this month, despite heavy rains in the past three days, an official said yesterday.
Water Resources Agency (WRA) deputy head Tien Chiao-ling (田巧玲) said that even with the recent rains, it was too early to lift the first-stage measures.
Officials will hold their next meeting on the nation’s water situation on Wednesday and are likely to keep the measures in place until at least late in the month, Tien said.
Taiwan’s driest spring in 58 years has left some parts of the nation scrambling to conserve water as shortages loom.
Taoyuan County and Linkou District (林口) in New Taipei City (新北市) in northern Taiwan, and Greater Kaohsiung in southern Taiwan have implemented first-stage water rationing measures, which reduce water pressure to consumers between 11pm and 5am, since March 22.
Parts of northern, central and southern Taiwan reported accumulated rainfall of more than 80mm between early Wednesday and Thursday afternoon, but it did little to replenish reservoirs with relatively low water levels.
As of 2pm yesterday, Shihmen Reservoir (石門水庫), which supplies water to Taoyuan and Linkou, was filled to 43.35 percent of its capacity, up from 42.48 percent late on Tuesday night.
However, the Agongdian Reservoir (阿公店水庫), which supplies water to Kaohsiung, saw its water reserves fall during the same period to 41.48 percent from 42.46 percent of capacity, according to agency figures.
Most of the heaviest rainfall was concentrated in central Taiwan, and while it brought welcome relief to some reservoirs there, it also caused damage in mountainous Nantou County.
Rockslides on several sections of a road in Renai Township (仁愛) blocked traffic as of Thursday morning and sporadic landslides were seen on Provincial Highway 21, but the rocks and debris were later removed.
Weather observation equipment on Yushan (玉山) was destroyed by lightning late on Wednesday and has not yet been repaired, according to the Yushan Weather Station.
Lin Yuan-pong (林元鵬), deputy head of the WRA’s South Region Water Resources Office, said that although the recent rains brought some relief to Taiwan’s dwindling water supplies, the general public is still urged to conserve water.
Death row inmate Huang Lin-kai (黃麟凱), who was convicted for the double murder of his former girlfriend and her mother, is to be executed at the Taipei Detention Center tonight, the Ministry of Justice announced. Huang, who was a military conscript at the time, was convicted for the rape and murder of his ex-girlfriend, surnamed Wang (王), and the murder of her mother, after breaking into their home on Oct. 1, 2013. Prosecutors cited anger over the breakup and a dispute about money as the motives behind the double homicide. This is the first time that Minister of Justice Cheng Ming-chien (鄭銘謙) has
Ferry operators are planning to provide a total of 1,429 journeys between Taiwan proper and its offshore islands to meet increased travel demand during the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday, the Maritime and Port Bureau said yesterday. The available number of ferry journeys on eight routes from Saturday next week to Feb. 2 is expected to meet a maximum transport capacity of 289,414 passengers, the bureau said in a news release. Meanwhile, a total of 396 journeys on the "small three links," which are direct ferries connecting Taiwan's Kinmen and Lienchiang counties with China's Fujian Province, are also being planned to accommodate
BITTERLY COLD: The inauguration ceremony for US president-elect Donald Trump has been moved indoors due to cold weather, with the new venue lacking capacity A delegation of cross-party lawmakers from Taiwan, led by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), for the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump, would not be able to attend the ceremony, as it is being moved indoors due to forecasts of intense cold weather in Washington tomorrow. The inauguration ceremony for Trump and US vice president-elect JD Vance is to be held inside the Capitol Rotunda, which has a capacity of about 2,000 people. A person familiar with the issue yesterday said although the outdoor inauguration ceremony has been relocated, Taiwan’s legislative delegation has decided to head off to Washington as scheduled. The delegation
TRANSPORT CONVENIENCE: The new ticket gates would accept a variety of mobile payment methods, and buses would be installed with QR code readers for ease of use New ticketing gates for the Taipei metro system are expected to begin service in October, allowing users to swipe with cellphones and select credit cards partnered with Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC), the company said on Tuesday. TRTC said its gates in use are experiencing difficulty due to their age, as they were first installed in 2007. Maintenance is increasingly expensive and challenging as the manufacturing of components is halted or becoming harder to find, the company said. Currently, the gates only accept EasyCard, iPass and electronic icash tickets, or one-time-use tickets purchased at kiosks, the company said. Since 2023, the company said it
RSS