Sixty-five percent of Taiwan’s reservoirs were eutrophic during a water shortage last year, the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) said this week.
Eutrophication affected 35 of Taiwan’s 55 reservoirs last year, while the oligotrophic Feitsui Reservoir (翡翠水庫), which supplies the Taipei metropolitan area, had the best water quality, the EPA said.
Eutrophication is caused by an excess of nutrients, which results in a buildup of plant life that limits the benefits of light and oxygen in water.
Mesotrophic water contains a moderate amount of nutrients, encouraging the growth of submerged aquatic plants, while oligotrophic water is clear and of higher quality.
The EPA regularly analyzes
By Lo Chi and Liu Tzu-hsuan / Staff reporter, with staff writerSixty-five percent of Taiwan’s reservoirs were eutrophic during a water shortage last year, the Environmental Protection Administration （EPA） said this week.
New technology tested in oxygen-poor rivers has led to 40 percent fewer fish deaths, the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) said.
The agency identified sections of rivers in Tainan with lower oxygen levels and excessive rates of fish deaths, EPA Office of Water Quality Protection head Yen Hsu-ming (顏旭明) said.
The institute and National Cheng Kung University’s Tainan Hydraulics Laboratory set up 30 smart aerators along sections of Wuye River (五爺溪) and the Tainan Canal, Yen said.
The aerators, developed by the Industrial Technology Research Institute, monitor oxygen saturation and start enriching the water if the saturation drops below 2mg per liter, Yen said.
Chiu