The economics ministry has decided to further reduce water supplies to factories in Tainan and Kaohsiung beginning April 15. Economics Minister approved the decision on Friday during a meeting of Taiwan’s drought taskforce.
The decision comes as water levels continue to fall in rivers and reservoirs in southern Taiwan amid the worst drought to hit the island in 67 years.
Factories in the two cities are already running 7.5% less water than normal. But the new cuts mean that they will have to run on 10% less water than normal beginning April 15.
Taiwan’s Central Weather Bureau (CWB) predicts that much of the rainfall in the coming months will fall in the northern and eastern parts of Taiwan. The CWB predicts that there will be some rainfall in June, but that May will remain relatively dry.