The rain brought by the start of the plum rain season last week has slightly eased drought conditions in the country, but the catchment levels of major reservoirs have not yet increased noticeably, the Water Resources Agency (WRA) said.
Until the catchment levels rise, the nation will continue to face the threat of drought, the agency said in a statement on Tuesday following a meeting of its disaster response unit earlier in the day.
The statement said the agency’s water resource monitoring indicators will remain unchanged from those it released on April 14, which show that water conditions in all areas of the nation are normal, except for the Banciao (板橋) and Sinjhuang (新莊) areas and Linkou District (林口) in New Taipei City, Taoyuan County and Greater Tainan.
The water status in Banciao, Sinjhuang, Linkou and Taoyuan was categorized as “slightly tight,” while Greater Tainan must continue with first-stage water rationing measures, meaning that water supplies during the night are reduced.
According to the agency’s data, from Saturday to Monday, rain brought by a weather front added about 9.82 million tonnes of water to the catchment of Shihmen Reservoir in northern Taiwan, 3.8 million tonnes of water to Wushantou and Zengwen reservoirs in the south, and 2.87 million tonnes of water to Nanhua Reservoir, also in the southern.
The agency estimated that Taoyuan, Linkou, Banciao, Sinjhuang, Chiayi and Greater Tainan will enjoy stable water supplies until May 31, while other areas will not have to worry about water shortages at least through next month.
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