Premier Mao Chi-kuo today instructed agencies to stay vigilant against the ongoing drought and continue to coordinate water conservation and restriction measures, noting that the Central Weather Bureau's (CWB) rain forecasts remain pessimistic and reservoir storage levels are continuing to fall.
The premier made these remarks after a Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) briefing on mid- and long-term water resource policy and present anti-drought measures.
Given the influence of global climate change, water resource policy should not merely touch upon opening up more resources and increasing conservation, the premier said. Forward-looking and pragmatic water resource allocation, recycling and management frameworks should also be included, with industrial development, grain safety and social justice all taken into consideration. Departments should refrain from limiting themselves and jointly promote cross-border cooperation.
CWB statistics indicate that total precipitation from October 2014 to February 2015 was the lowest for that calendar period in 70 years and was just 30 to 50 percent of the average. The reservoir levels in areas with water restrictions have continued to fall, and the storage situation is grim.
Precipitation could be raised 10 percent through successive cloud seedings—eight times from ground level and once from the air—during opportunities provided by weather fronts. Last night, cloud seeding was undertaken from the ground level at the Shimen and Baoshan reservoirs, which could respectively gain 2.5 million and 740,000 tons of water from the rainfall from last night through today.
This afternoon, the MOEA and Ministry of National Defense will take advantage of the opportunity provided by the present weather front by jointly carrying out cloud seeding at the Shimen, Yongheshan, Mingde, Liyutan and second Baoshan reservoirs.
There is still a long way to go before the dry season ends, and the premier has instructed central and local governments to work together on nationwide water conversation and drought-fighting in order to pass this test.