There’s a safety concern over a section of the High Speed Rail that runs through Yunlin County. That’s due to the ground sinking from over pumping of groundwater. The local government is calling for farmers in the area to change to growing something that requires less water.
Kaoliang, a kind of sorghum, is growing near the High Speed Rail tracks in Yunlin County in place of the former rice fields. That’s because the area saw the ground sinking due to overpumping of groundwater. Kaoliang doesn’t use as much water as rice to grow.
For the first half of the year, Taiwan experienced the worst drought in 56 years. As a result, farmers in the area were pumping more groundwater to irrigate their paddy fields, causing the ground to sink. The affected surface went from 100 sq. km. last year to 500 sq. km. this year.
The county is now encouraging farmers to switch to growing kaoliang and to use less groundwater. Instead, the farmers are advised to divert river water or artificial lakes for irrigation.