The use and management of water resources in Taiwan has become more complex and severely challenged under the influence of climate change.
The goal of rational and effective development and utilization of water resources for sustainable development is a subject that must be actively faced. Under the principle of water resources total control, the traditional water resources planning and development thinking has been adjusted. The current planning adopts various period stages and supplements the forward-looking integrated water resources management to achieve water resources sustainable use.
After reviewing the master plan of water resources management in various districts of Taiwan, we began to develop alternative water resources, such as seawater desalination, water reclamation, rainwater harvesting and storage, groundwater recharge, and agricultural return water, to reduce water supply risks.
The current development methods of alternative water resources are mainly based on desalination. At present, there is a process for evaluating the site selection of desalination plants and assessing the impact of marine ecology. The ongoing planning is the Tainan Desalination Plant.
In addition, water reclamation has gradually become another way to stably supply for the usage of non-drinking water. For this purpose, we has carried out the reclaimed water utilization plan of the Fengshan River Water Resources Center in Kaohsiung, the wastewater reclamation plant plan and reclaimed water plan at Taichung Futian Wastewater Treatment Plant and the sewage reclamation plan in Tainan Anping, etc.
Other alternatives water resources such as rainwater harvesting and storage, groundwater recharge usage and agricultural return flow are also planned. The alternatives water resources planning strategies are as Figure 1.
Figure.1 The alternatives water resources planning strategies