At the Cabinet meeting today, Premier Mao Chi-kuo confirmed that the third phase of water rationing will begin as scheduled on April 1 for areas including New Taipei City's Banqiao, Xinzhuang and Linkou districts, Taoyuan City, as well as parts of Hsinchu County.
Heavy precipitation over recent days has brought limited relief for the drought as the rainfall occurred mostly over the plains rather than water catchment areas. Areas supplied by the Shihmen Reservoir are still facing a severe water shortage, the premier said.
To mitigate the impact of water rationing on people's daily lives, ministries should work with local governments to ensure sufficient water supplies for basic household use, medical emergencies, firefighting, and disease control and prevention, Mao added. With scant rainfall expected to continue into the next quarter, Premier Mao urged the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) to prepare for the worst-case scenario of reservoirs drying up.
Stressing that Taiwan is facing serious water resource problems, the premier directed the MOEA to thoroughly review its water resource management policies and overhaul all related measures to make water conservation the standard practice. In addition, he asked the Water Resources Agency to implement a 10-year program with local governments to dredge reservoirs and find sustainable sites for disposing of excess sediments.