By Aries Poon And Fanny Liu
TAIPEI--At World Gym, the largest fitness-club operator in
Taiwan, members might have to finish a sweaty workout without a
refreshing shower.
"The gym doesn't have water supply on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
Visitors on those days have dropped by more than 50%," said a staff
at the club in Taoyuan City, one of the areas dealing with
restricted water supply as Taiwan faces its worst drought in nearly
seven decades due to reduced rainfall in some key reservoirs in the
north.
Since the end of February, the government has reduced the water
supply by up to 10% for heavy industrial users that consume at
least 1,000 metric tons of water each month.
As of Wednesday, households in some major cities in the north
also had their water cut off for two days a week. Residents of New
Taipei City, the suburb near the capital, could be seen lining up
at water trucks, filling their bottles and buckets with water. The
capital, Taipei, remains unaffected.
Taiwan is home to key suppliers of electronic components to
global tech brands such as Apple Inc. and Qualcomm Inc. The
government and companies said the water shortage hasn't affected
production, as they have reduced water usage in nonmanufacturing
processes and increased the use of recycled and wastewater.
"We have been cutting our water usage and we have our own water
tanks for advance storage," said AU Optronics Corp., a major
panel-display maker.
But if the dry spell extends into summer, some manufacturing
activities might face disruption. Taiwan's rainy season typically
runs from March to May, and is followed by the typhoon season,
which lasts from June to August.
"If water-rationing measures tighten further, the company won't
rule out purchasing water from external sources," AU Optronics
said.
Taiwan's total rainfall between October and March was the lowest
since record keeping began in 1947, according to the Central
Weather Bureau. The Water Resource Agency said it forecasts a "high
probability" of drier weather in the coming quarter.
Yang Kuei-hsien, deputy director of the statistics department at
the Ministry of Economic Affairs, said the economic impact of the
drought is minimal for now.
"But if the drought persists and water supply is suspended every
two days, the impact on the industry will be more severe. Having
said that, we expect the rainy season will start later this month
at the earliest. Hopefully that will help ease the drought," Mr.
Yang said.
According to an estimate by Yuanta-Polaris Research Institute, a
prolonged drought into the summer could shave 0.2 percentage point
off Taiwan's 2015 gross domestic product. The government expects
GDP to rise 3.78% this year.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs said last week it aims to
reform the water-pricing system within three years, adding that any
changes are likely to be implemented in phases.
The government encourages conservation by offering incentives to
those who save water. The authorities are also speeding up the
process of clearing silt at reservoirs, which they said has
contributed to reservoirs' reduced storage capacity during the
rainy season.
An official from the Water Resource Agency said the government
has cut the water supply to some rice fields since the beginning of
the year. The size of the affected area accounts for about 10% of
the total rice fields on the island.
Write to Aries Poon at aries.poon@wsj.com and Fanny Liu at
fanny.liu@wsj.com
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