The Executive Yuan yesterday approved an eight-year, NT$80.8 billion (US$2.45 billion) plan to reduce water leakage ratios at dams by 9.77 percent by the time of the project’s completion in 2032.
The Executive Yuan said the plan could reduce leakages by 59.1 million cubic meters annually, or 160,000 cubic meters daily.
The project would help the government reach its target of reducing leakage rates to below 10 percent by 2031, Taiwan Water Corp chairman Lee Chia-jung (李嘉榮) said.
Photo: Lu Hsien-hsiu, Taipei Times
Using its self-developed water leakage detection software, the company would be able to spot abnormalities in water pressure from the data uploaded into the system by monitoring stations, which would allow it to provide timely repairs, Lee said.
The company is also working with the Industrial Technology Research Institute to jointly develop cloud-based, artificial intelligence-powered water leakage detection to further enhance its capabilities, he said.
Utilization of smart analysis and big data would allow the company to detect leakage hotspots and prioritize efforts to replace piping in the area, he said.
The company hopes to reduce leakages and improve maintenance, which would significantly reduce water leakage and maintain the government’s capability to provide water for economic and civilian use while reducing their effects on climate change, he said.
The company enacted a 12-year plan to reduce water leakage starting in 2013, with an estimated budget of more than NT$100 billion, Lee said.
The company’s project has sought to reduce leakage rates by increasing water pressure management, increasing the speed and quality of repairs, and increasing piping maintenance, Lee said.
By the completion of the project last year, the company had replaced pipes totaling 8,448km in length, and reduced the leakage rate from 19.55 percent in 2012 to 11.99 percent, Lee said.
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