Officials, residents and businesses in Taichung have been gearing up for water cuts that are to take effect tomorrow as Taiwan deals with a water shortage.
The water supply to large parts of Taichung as well as parts of Miaoli, Changhua and Hsinchu counties is to be cut on a rotational basis for two days a week, affecting an estimated 1 million customers, the Water Resources Agency said.
It is the most stringent water rationing measure introduced in central Taiwan in nearly 50 years, Taiwan Water Corp (台灣自來水) official Lin Yi-hsiung (林義雄) said.
Photo: CNA
The Taichung City Government said in a statement that it has been preparing for stringent water rationing measures since October last year, as water levels have been falling in Liyutan (鯉魚潭), Techi (德基) and Shihgang (石岡) reservoirs, which supply the city.
The city government said it has established six water recycling centers where residents can obtain water for free to water their plants and clean their homes.
The city government would also install 10 water purification machines across the city by the end of this month, it said, adding that each machine would provide 15m3 of drinking water per day to residents for free.
As part of its water conservation measures, the city government would close all public swimming pools from tomorrow, while schools have been asked to recycle water for certain purposes, the statement said.
Developer CMP Group (勤美集團) said it has been collecting 20,000m3 of groundwater per day at one of its construction sites to provide water to factories and members of the public.
Restaurant chain Chun Shui Tang (春水堂) said it would take some meals off its menu and switch to disposable tableware as part of its water conservation measures.
General merchandise chain Showba (小北百貨) said that after the central government announced the water cuts on March 24, sales of buckets at its outlets in the area jumped 80 percent in one week.
Hypermarket chain operator Carrefour Taiwan (家樂福) also reported a sharp increase in sales of bottled drinking water, wet wipes and hand sanitizers over the past week.
As of yesterday, the water level at the Liyutan Reservoir was at 10.22 percent of capacity, and the Techi Reservoir was 5.68 percent of capacity, agency data showed.
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