The water level at the Mingde Reservoir (明德水庫) in Miaoli County on Monday fell to below 40 percent capacity, amid concerns that the nation’s water supply would tighten further as lower-than-average precipitation has been forecast for the next three months.
The Mingde Reservoir, which mainly supplies water for agricultural irrigation, fell to 37.1 percent of capacity, said Wong Chih-cheng (翁志成), an official with the Irrigation Agency’s Miaoli Management Office.
With no new rainfall, that amount would only last about 30 days, given that the reservoir supplies about 136,000m3 of water per day, Wong said.
Photo: Chang Hsun-teng, Taipei Times
The reservoir’s situation mirrors that of other parts of the northern half of Taiwan.
On Tuesday last week, the Water Resources Agency adjusted its drought monitoring alert for Taoyuan, and Hsinchu and Miaoli counties in northern Taiwan, and Taichung in central Taiwan from “blue” to “green,” reminding people to conserve water.
Under the agency’s five-color system, “blue” means a normal water supply, while “green” signals a tightening water supply situation. “Yellow,” “orange” and “red” indicate water shortages and increasingly severe water rationing measures.
As of yesterday morning, Shihmen Reservoir (石門水庫), the second-biggest reservoir in northern Taiwan, was down to 31.64 percent of capacity and the Liyutan Reservoir (鯉魚潭水庫) in Miaoli County was down to 36.32 percent of capacity.
The Miaoli office is considering measures to save water, including a “four-on-four-off” rotation irrigation system starting on Thursday next week for the 1,200 hectares of farmland that rely on the Mingde Reservoir, Wong said.
However, that plan would be adjusted depending on rainfall and the conditions of each farming area, he said.
The reservoir’s supply remains somewhat better than last year, when reserves fell below 20 percent of capacity in late April, he said.
Meanwhile, the Miaoli County Water Resource Department has announced the establishment of five water recycling centers in the county to make free recycled water available to the public, he said.
The centers can provide about 2,000m3 of recycled water each day, he said.
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