At the Cabinet's weekly meeting today, Premier Chang San-cheng reminded government agencies to use water sustainably and to always be prepared for any water shortages.
Climate change and growing water demands are putting Taiwan at increased risk of water shortage, the premier said after hearing the Ministry of Economic Affairs' (MOEA) report on the country's water situation. Although Taiwan has enjoyed ample rainfall this year, it is essential to stay on the alert.
To balance the needs of industrial development, food security and social justice, it is vital to use water reservoirs more sustainably, reduce pipeline leaks, enhance usage efficiency and encourage wastewater recycling, the premier stressed.
Premier Chang also praised the MOEA's Water Resources Agency, the Ministry of the Interior and the Council of Agriculture for their successful efforts to build up water resources. He directed the MOEA to continue to bolster cross-ministry cooperation, apply better technology, and implement non-structural measures to ensure efficient management of water resources.
The MOEA cited various achievements in water infrastructure from 2008 to 2015. A total 83.14 million cubic meters of sediment had been cleared from the nation's reservoirs, and pipeline leakage had been reduced by 130.78 million cubic meters per year. Water supplies had been increased by 520,000 cubic meters per day and backup water supplies by 2.57 million cubic meters per day, which raised the rate of population served by 1.4 percentage points to 93.45 percent. In December 2015, the Legislature approved the Reclaimed Water Resources Development Act, requiring regions prone to water scarcity to use a certain percentage of reclaimed water for industrial purposes. Meanwhile, the MOEA is drafting relevant regulations to balance the supply and demand of water in different regions.