The Ministry of Economic Affairs on Thursday said regions dependent on the Kaohsiung Reservoir (高雄水庫) and the Shihmen Reservoir (石門水庫) might face water shortages this year if rainfall is less than expected.
Most of the nation’s reservoirs are at about 80 percent capacity, with some at about 60 percent, Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Yang Wei-fu (楊偉甫) said in a meeting at the Executive Yuan in Taipei.
The Kaohsiung region does not have any large reservoirs and the region’s supply will not last past March without replenishment, Yang said.
In addition, high demand for water from the Shihmen Reservoir by industries and residents in the large area it provides water for — where usually four times the reservoir’s capacity is used per year — suggests that the water supply there will not last past May without being replenished, he said.
If rainfall proves scarce in the next three months, water supply will be problematic for regions depending on the two reservoirs, Yang said.
Risk management strategies are recommended for areas that would be affected, he said.
However, the ministry does not foresee problems for the first rice planting season this year on the Jianan Plain (嘉南平原) in Chiayi and Tainan, as water levels at the Zengwen (曾文水庫) and Wushantou (烏山頭水庫) reservoirs are at the desired level, suggesting that government regulations to curb water consumption by the agriculture industry have been successful, Yang said.
At the meeting, Central Weather Bureau Director-General Shyn Tzay-chyn (辛在勤) said that spring this year is likely to be relatively hot and dry, with rainfall concentrated during the monsoon season.
Additionally, typhoons are projected to be more likely to make landfall in autumn and the government should prepare for flooding and other typhoon-related problems earlier than usual, Shyn said.
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