TAIPEI, Taiwan -- A water rationing measure will be enforced in Kaohsiung on March 20 as scheduled if the rainfall in the next few days fails to significantly boost the water flow level of the Kaoping River (高屏) in southern Taiwan, the Water Resources Agency said on Monday. Wang Yi-feng, deputy director of the agency, said that the water flow volume for the Kaoping River had risen to 19 cubic meters per second, running close to the historic average level, due to the continuous rainfall in the past few days. Nevertheless, Wang continued, the precipitation was likely to be limited to just the next few days, and the chances are still high for first-stage water rationing to be implemented on March 20 in the Kaohsiung and Pingtung areas. The agency has scheduled a three-stage water rationing system to be in place by the end of May, depending on precipitation records in different areas of Taiwan. In fact, the agency has already carried out first-stage rationing in Banqiao, Xinzhuang, and Linkuo districts in New Taipei City as well as the Taoyuan and Hsinchu areas since March 1, with water supply reduced during off-peak hours and other specific time periods.

Source: The China Post March 13, 2017 17:48 UTC