As Taiwan faces its worst drought in half a century, the Water Resources Agency says it is doing all it can to exploit new water sources in hard-hit areas. The agency says that Taichung in central Taiwan already has 56 anti-drought wells, with another 39 on the way. That’s on top of public access to groundwater wells at 52 construction sites across the county.
Central Taiwan has been worst affected by the ongoing water crisis. To reduce water usage, some areas of Miaoli, Changhua, and Taichung can currently only access running water for five days a week.
Wang Yi-feng is Deputy Director-General of the Water Resources Agency. He says that authorities will finish drilling all the new wells by May 9. He says all the new projects should add up to an increase of about 100,000 tons more water every day.
If the current drought continues into June, Wang says all options are on the table. As for locating further sources of water, he says there are another 50 construction sites in Taichung that may be able to access groundwater.