Three Taichung city councilors on Monday urged the local Water Resource Bureau to step up development of subsurface streams as alternative water sources in the wake of a severe water shortage in the city in the first half of the year.
Taichung uses 1.4 million tonnes of water daily, with the Dajia River (大甲溪) and the Liyutan Reservoir (鯉魚潭) each providing half that amount, said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taichung City Councilor Chiang Chao-kuo (江肇國), accompanied by two other DPP councilors, Lai Chia-wei (賴佳微) and Chang Chia-an (張家銨).
The bureau should closely monitor how much the 88 wells dug by the Taichung Economic Development Bureau is being used, Chiang said.
Photo: Su Chin-feng, Taipei Times
The wells were dug as an emergency measure and how they should be used in the following years should be carefully studied, Chiang said.
This data would help the Water Resource Bureau decide whether the wells should be sealed for later use, as well as the effects that digging such wells would have on the ground, he added.
The nation’s concentrated rain season often results in water shortages in other parts of the year, and the Water Resource Bureau should consider developing alternative sources of water for the municipality, Chiang said.
An abundant water supply is not only a must for the public to maintain a normal life, but it would also attract industrial companies, he said, citing the 1.45 million tonnes consumed by the Taichung Science Park as an example, with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co alone using 54,000 tonnes.
Aside from relying on reservoirs, the city government should collaborate with the central government in development projects to tap into the subsurface streams around the Dajia River, the Daan River (大安溪) and the Wu River (烏溪), Chiang said.
The Water Resource Bureau said it has complied with the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ measures to combat water shortages, which included tapping into subsurface streams in the Daan and Wu rivers.
The Daan River project drew 20,000 tonnes of water daily, which was relayed through Houlijun (后里圳) to the Liyutan Reservoir during the water shortage, it said.
A project to tap into the Wu River’s subsurface streams is expected to provide 45,000 tonnes a day for use by Changhua County, the bureau said.
Both projects have been in service since May 7, but would only be activated if the situation calls for it, it said.
The development of water resources falls under the jurisdiction of the central government, and the bureau can only assist in such projects, it said.
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