Hsinchu water supply cuts may be expanded if drought

persists: WRA

Taipei, May 19 (CNA) The current rotational suspension of water supply to parts of
Hsinchu County may be expanded in June if the severe drought in western Taiwan
continues, Lai Chien-hsin (賴建信), director-general of the Water Resources Agency
(WRA), said Wednesday.

At a virtual press conference, Lai said that if the catchment areas at Hsinchu's
reservoirs do not get at least 100 millimeters of accumulated rainfall between May
19 and 31, the WRA will have to raise its water shortage alert for the city from
orange to red.

A red alert, the highest on the WRA's four-tier scale, would mean a suspension of the
water supply to some 333,400 households in Hsinchu for two days per week, along
with other water conservation measures, according to the agency.

Currently, only Xiangshan District in Hsinchu City, which borders Miaoli County, is
included in the water rationing measures that were imposed in Miaoli, Taichung, and
northern Changhua County last month.

While a rotational suspension of the water supply will not affect the Hsinchu Science
Park and industrial districts, Lai said, companies in those areas will be asked to
reduce their monthly consumption by 17 percent, compared with 15 percent
currently.

The park administration, however, said it will adopt the 17 percent reduction with
effect from May 21, which will create an additional water shortage of 5,000 tons but
will not disrupt the operations of the companies there, as they will buy water at
designated sites.

On Wednesday, the country's two major chipmakers, Taiwan Semiconductor

Manufacturing Co. and United Microelectronics Co., both headquartered in Hsinchu,
said they plan to buy more water to ensure an adequate supply.

Meanwhile, areas of the country that are already subject to the two-day water cuts
each week may have to brace for an additional eight-hour suspension if the drought
does not ease by May 31, Lai said.

The water levels in the reservoirs in Hsinchu and Taichung have fallen below 10
percent capacity, while those in Taoyuan and Tainan are hovering around 10 percent
capacity, according to Lai.

He said the WRA will dig 22 new wells in Hsinchu in an effort to alleviate the
problem.

Lai also announced that the WRA water shortage alert for Taoyuan and Linkou
District in New Taipei will be raised from yellow to orange on May 21, which means
industrial consumers will be required to reduce water consumption by 13 percent,
from the current 11 percent.

Businesses such as those operating car washes and swimming pools will be required
to reduce their consumption by 20 percent, he said.