China News Network, March 3 -- According to comprehensive Taiwan media reports, the drought in central and southern Taiwan is severe, and in order to cooperate with agricultural irrigation water, the water level of Sun Moon Lake has plummeted, and the water storage rate has fallen below 20% recently. The copper sculpture "Nine Frogs Superimposed Statue" representing the water level of Sun Moon Lake, and the overflow well building body known as the "mysterious black hole" in the pool area have all been exposed, becoming a drought elephant wonder.
The water level of Sun Moon Lake plummeted, and all the "nine frog stacked images" went ashore. Image source: Photo by Yang Jingru, Taiwan Zhongshi News Network
Lack of water! Sun Moon Lake "Nine Frog Stacked Statues" all appeared
The water level of Sun Moon Lake dropped to 19.741 meters on the 1th (full water level 748.5 meters), the water storage rate remained 54.6% breaking a new low this year, the copper sculpture "Nine Frogs Stacked Statue" was placed in the waters of Sun Moon Lake Dazhu Lake, in recent years whenever there is a shortage of water it has become the focus, not only has become a well-known attraction in Sun Moon Lake, "Nine Frog Sunset" has also jumped to one of the new eight scenery of Sun Moon Lake, a few days ago after the "Nine Frogs Stacked Statue" landed, there is an endless stream of tourists visiting every day.
The meteorological department of the Taiwan authorities recently announced that the average cumulative rainfall of meteorological observation stations south of Hsinchu this winter is the lowest in nearly 60 years, the second lowest average rainy day in the history of Hsinchu, and since June 2, the average cumulative rainfall south of Hsinchu is less than in 2022 and 6, the fourth rainfall in nearly 2020 years.
The "Nine Frogs" of Sun Moon Lake came ashore at the end of February, when the water storage rate was still 2%, the water level was about 8 meters, but in order to supply water for spring plowing downstream, the water level plummeted by 745.3 meters to 5.741 meters in just half a month, leaving a water storage rate of 5.54%.
Sun Moon Lake "Nine Frog Stacked Statues" all landed. Image source: Photo by Yang Jingru, Taiwan Zhongshi News Network
Some tourists pointed out that the child's picture book appeared in the nine frogs of Sun Moon Lake, and taught the child to cherish water, so this weekend specially arranged a trip to Sun Moon Lake, but did not expect that the nine frogs all went ashore, the child said: "Oh my God! It's all exposed, it's so ugly! Another tourist exclaimed: "Nine have appeared, the first time I saw it, it's an exaggeration!" Really short of water. ”
The Sun Moon Lake Scenic Area Management Office said that there was no rain in the Sun Moon Lake area after winter, and the water storage area cooperated with the supply of downstream agricultural irrigation water, and the water storage has been "beyond its means", so that the water level has plummeted, not only the nine frogs in the Dazhu Lake area are stacked ashore, but even the "water bicycle path" is also "ashore"; For the four major pier facilities, the floating row of the boat that is about to run aground has been dragged away in recent days to avoid the rupture of the floating row caused by touching the land, and the approach bridge between the upper and lower piers has also been equipped with anti-slip strips to maintain the safety of tourists on the boat.
If the water level of Sun Moon Lake is higher than 748.5 meters, too much water will be discharged from the overflow well to the downstream stream; therefore, the overflow well is known as the "mysterious black hole of Sun Moon Lake". Image source: Sun Moon Lake Air Duct
Sun Moon Lake "mysterious black hole" is no longer mysterious
In addition to the "Nine Frogs Stacked Statue" all exposed, the Sun Moon Lake overflow well, known as the "mysterious black hole", has also been exposed.
Taipower, which manages the Sun Moon Lake Reservoir, pointed out that the Sun Moon Lake overflow well is a safety mechanism for Sun Moon Lake, if the water level is higher than 748.5 meters, too much water will be discharged from the overflow well to the downstream stream, to prevent the Sun Moon Lake from excessive water storage, to ensure the safety of the reservoir, if the Sun Moon Lake is full of water level, from the air overlooking like a big black hole, netizens named "Sun Moon Lake mysterious black hole".
The water level of Sun Moon Lake plummeted by 7.4 meters, and the overflow well building was exposed. Image source: Taiwan Zhongshi News Network
Taipower also said that after the 21st, the peak period of supply of downstream Changhua and Yunlin spring plowing irrigation water has passed, when the water supply of Sun Moon Lake will be reduced from the current 20 tons per second to 10 tons per second, which is expected to greatly reduce the water supply pressure in the Tan District, and continue to coordinate, hoping to moderately reduce the water supply according to the actual situation and maintain the water level in the Tan District as much as possible.
21 of Taiwan's 13 major reservoirs have a water storage rate of less than 50%
Not only Sun Moon Lake, but also Taiwan's Zengwen, Renyitan, Lantan and other reservoirs have hit a new low in the same period in history, and 21 of Taiwan's 13 major reservoirs have a water storage rate of less than 50%.
Officials from Taiwan's "Water Resources Administration" said that these reservoir catchment areas have not seen effective rainfall for a long time, coupled with the increase in water use by people and industry, they cannot make ends meet.
Officials emphasized that due to the problem of siltation in the capacity of the reservoir, and the impact of the combined use of the reservoir, it is not accurate to look at the water storage rate of a single reservoir, such as the current control of Lantan and Renyitan with a daily water output of 11,6 tons, and only 3,3 tons of water a few days ago, it is expected that the water supply will be safe in the next three months, and the water storage rate of Zengwen Reservoir will be greatly reduced to 11%, mainly because the water released to the Wushantou Reservoir is transferred to Jianan Dazhen Water Supply for spring miscellaneous irrigation, and the water use will be controlled in the future, and it is estimated that it will be released to the Wushantou Reservoir for joint use in mid-April. In the short term, the water storage rate of the Zengwen Reservoir should not decline significantly.
According to official data, the water storage of Lantan and Renyitan, which now supply water to the south, is the 37th lowest in 8 years of joint operation, the Zengwen Gawu Shantou Reservoir is the 50th lowest in 10 years of joint operation, and the Nanhua Reservoir is the 30th lowest in 7 years.
Tainan requires that large water users with more than 3,1 degrees per month must reduce their water supply by 1000%, and the Tainan municipal government and the water company sent personnel to audit, and statistics that by March 10, 3 persuasion sheets had been issued for those who did not meet the water-saving standards, and 15 water meter lead seals had been enforced.
Tainan Municipal Economic Development Bureau pointed out that a total of 1000 water meters for large water users above 718,1 degrees per month, the first time did not reach 10% water savings, the first persuasion sheet was opened, and the second time will be for those who did not meet the water saving standards, the implementation of water meter lead sealing, forced supply reduction, so far 2 water meter lead seals have been implemented, the lead sealing rate is about 269%.
The water level of Sun Moon Lake plummeted, and a large sandbar was exposed. Image source: Photo by Yang Jingru, Taiwan Zhongshi News Network
Farmers are worried that spring tea production will be greatly reduced
Severe drought in central and southern Taiwan, also affecting agricultural irrigation and crop growth, Nantou Deer Valley, Ren'ai and other places tea plants due to insufficient water, do not spit out new shoots, Ren'ai Farmers Association said that spring tea harvest may not only delay the harvest, but also face a sharp reduction in production, short-term vegetables are also affected by water shortage, farmers have to delay farming, which may affect the supply of vegetables throughout the year.
Xinyi, Ren'ai Township and other places green plums also due to drought do not grow, the fruit is generally small, and even there is fruit drop, Xinyi Farmers Association said that this year's green plum fruit rate is not bad, but most plum orchards because of lack of rain, the fruit does not grow large, now hope to quickly fall from the sky to help crops quench thirst.