Water rationed as Taiwan hit by drought

Taiwan has been hit by its worst drought in 56 years and local authorities have cut the water supply in some locations and called on the public to restrict water use, warning that a majority of Taiwan's reservoirs are running dangerously low.

According to the island's water resources agency, as of Wednesday 17 of the 19 major reservoirs contained less than half their capacity, with eight below 20 percent.

Deji reservoir, which supplies water to the Taichung area, was just 4.2 percent full and Baihe reservoir in the south of the island was completely dry.

The low water levels of reservoirs have also added increasing pressure on power generation.

The drought follows a severe drop in rainfall and no typhoon in the whole year of 2020, the first time in 56 years.

Since April 6, the island's government has imposed water rationing on areas including Taichung, North Changhua, part of Miaoli and the Hsinchu area, with water supplied for five days a week and shut down for two days. It is the third time in the past 20 years that Taiwan has imposed such stringent measures, affecting about a million households.

In addition to residents, industries such as water-intensive semiconductor manufacturers are also facing challenges.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, the world's largest contract chipmaker, which supplies Apple, Intel and other big names, has initiated measures to reduce water usage and has trucked in water from other areas, although the company said the drought has not affected its production so far.

The water shortage has also had a major impact on agricultural production, with some counties and cities forced to stop irrigating farmland, leading to reduced fruit and tea production.

According to a local media report, Taoyuan city in northwestern Taiwan had halted irrigation on 74,000 hectares by January, the largest affected area in two decades.

Taiwan's agricultural authority said estimates put the cost of damage to the island's agriculture caused by the drought at more than $14 million.