Soldiers to help clean up reservoir

This article was published by the Taiwan Headlines on March 29, 2006. It reports that the Ministry of Defense will assign a troop of army engineers and navy frogmen to remove the sediment that has accumulated at the bottom of the Shihmen Reservoir, in order to solve the area's recurring water shortage problem.

Meanwhile, the government plans to set up a special two-year, NT$309 million (US$1.1 billion) floodwater control budget. It is the first stage of a proposed total budget of NT$116 billion, which will be appropriated over eight years.

The problem of sedimentation is the result of soil and other debris being washed down into the Shihmen Reservoir by heavy rains. Deforestation, farming and road construction in mountainous areas have all contributed to the problem, which often causes the suspension of water supply in northern Taiwan. The aforementioned NT$116 billion flood-control budget is proposed to resolve the twin problems of flooding and water supply suspension that take place in Taiwan almost every summer.