Taiwan Today

The river flows smoothly, reflections flickering on the blue-green water. A flock of graceful egrets with long, slender necks, yellow-orange beaks and milky white plumage scan for fish in the shoals. A dozen sailboats with colorful illustrations on their sails congregate at the dock, ready to set off. There are also people fishing, cycling and taking a walk along the riverbank. “The Danshui riverside is my favorite place for leisure activities because there are so many things to do, like bird watching, cycling and taking a ferry ride,” visitor Yang Ya-ping says. “It’s really a great pleasure to be able to do recreational activities in such a picturesque setting.”

The common aim of Taiwan’s central and local government authorities to provide cleaner water and an improved river environment is being realized after years of cleanup and revitalization efforts. A good case study of these endeavors is the Danshui River, which originates in Shei-Pa National Park in Hsinchu County, then flows north through Taoyuan County, Taipei County and Taipei City before emptying into the Taiwan Strait at Danshui Township. It has three major tributaries--the Dahan Creek, Xindian Creek and Keelung River.

At 158 kilometers long and draining an area of 2,726 square kilometers, the Danshui is the third longest river in Taiwan behind the 186-kilometer Zhuoshui River, which runs through Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County in central Taiwan, as well as the 171-kilometer-long Gaoping River, which meanders through Kaohsiung County and Pingtung County in the south.

Cleaning up Taiwan’s rivers is an important aspect of water resource management and a high-priority task of the central government and local governments alike. At the top echelon, the Cabinet-level Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) has long promoted programs to monitor and control major pollution sources like sewage from households, industrial waste and effluent from livestock breeding operations. To this end, the EPA’s projects include the construction of sewerage systems and sewage treatment plants, the establishment of an emergency water pollution response system and environmental education.

Chen Shyan-heng, director-general of the EPA’s Department of Water Quality Protection, says the government has scrutinized the nation’s 50 major rivers for years. Chen also points out that a 1988 project on the Danshui was the earliest river cleanup effort ever undertaken in Taiwan. Since then, the EPA has coordinated with the Construction and Planning Administration of the Ministry of the Interior and local governments to accelerate the construction of public sewerage systems, connect households to the systems and install facilities to intercept river waste, particularly in densely populated areas.

The effort was given a new focus in 2008 under President Ma Ying-jeou’s administration, which inaugurated a three-year program placing priority on nine rivers--including the Danshui River, the Zhuoshui River and the Love River in Kaohsiung--because at least half of the length of each was found to have medium to high levels of pollution. The EPA’s River Pollution Index (RPI) measures the levels of dissolved oxygen, biochemical oxygen demand (the rate at which organisms use up oxygen in a body of water), ammonia nitrogen and suspended solids. An RPI score of more than 6 indicates serious pollution, 3-6 moderate pollution, 2-3 light pollution and less than 2 no pollution. The EPA’s main objectives in its cleanup work are to render the nine rivers odorless and to ensure that they contain enough dissolved oxygen to sustain aquatic life and break down pollutants.

Previous efforts to control water pollution in Taiwan’s rivers, however, progressed slowly until 2002, when the EPA switched its focus from building sewerage pipeline systems and central collection and treatment plants to treating sewage at sites along the rivers’ upstream and midstream sections.

Compared with conventional sewerage systems, which require significant time and money to build, Chen explains that on-site treatment via the construction of wetlands and gravel beds in rivers can yield effective cleanup at a faster pace. Wetlands are especially good at biologically converting the toxic concentrations of nitrites found in industrial and household sewage into harmless nitrogen gas. Similarly, gravel beds reduce pollutants in rivers by providing sufficient dissolved oxygen to reduce concentrations of ammonia nitrogen. The gravel beds provide a growth medium for bacteria, which attach oxygen to the ammonia nitrogen found in sewage, ultimately transforming it into a benign gas.

On-Site Treatment

Chen says so far, his agency has provided funding to local governments for the construction of 77 on-site wastewater treatment systems across Taiwan, which together occupy a total area of 195 hectares. They can treat a combined 490,000 tons of wastewater each day. Apart from purifying water, these systems can also serve to create an environment conducive to the existence of different fish and bird species, thus helping preserve the biodiversity of the rivers. Of these on-site wastewater treatment systems, nine have been built in the Danshui’s watershed and eight more are under construction. Currently, the on-site systems on the Danshui can process 30,000 tons of wastewater each day.

In midstream and downstream sections of Taiwan’s major rivers, the EPA has built stations to intercept waterborne sewage from households that are not yet connected to public sewerage systems in order to direct it into the existing sewage treatment plants. On the Danshui itself, there are two of these plants in operation, with one in Bali Township, located near the mouth of the Danshui River, and one in the Dihua Street area of Taipei City’s Datong District. Another plant is located on the Keelung River in Taipei City’s Neihu District, just upstream from where the Keelung empties into the Danshui. Built in 1997, the Bali plant is the oldest, followed by the Neihu plant in 2003 and the Dihua plant in 2007. Together the three plants can process nearly 2 million tons of sewage each day.

In addition, the EPA’s Chen says that his administration has established an emergency response system that can, when pollution in rivers around Taiwan is detected, immediately notify the appropriate officials and mobilize countermeasures to curb further pollution. In its promotion of the pollution notification system, the administration has sought to encourage the public to participate in monitoring and reporting unlawful wastewater discharges from factories.

Under a program initiated by the EPA, many environmental protection bureaus in city and county governments have organized River Watch teams, which are composed of local residents that have received training in how to detect pollution entering rivers. When these teams find suspected pollution sources, they inform local government authorities, who in turn notify the EPA. So far, an estimated 407 River Watch teams with 8,515 patrolling volunteers have been formed around Taiwan. On the Danshui, there are 30 teams with 708 members.

“The Danshui watershed is home to 6.15 million people, or about a third of Taiwan’s total population. Its importance and impact go without saying,” Chen says. “But cleaning up the river is complicated by its hydrological characteristics, its large and densely populated watershed and the fact that it extends through several administrative districts.” He adds that thanks to the combined efforts of central and local government agencies and area residents, the number of seriously polluted sections of the Danshui contracted from more than 15 percent of the river’s total length during the early 1980s to less than 5 percent by October 2008.

Urban Waterfront

The Taipei City Government established the Danshui River Revitalization Committee in February 2007 to integrate government, industry and academic resources. The committee consists of 18 members with Taipei City Mayor Hau Lung-bin serving as the chairman. In fact, one of Hau’s most ambitious pledges during his 2006 mayoral campaign was to achieve high water quality in the Danshui River.

In its drive to revitalize the river, the Taipei City Government has earmarked a budget of some NT$5 billion (US$150 million) for 2009, similar to the amount spent in 2008. More than 140 projects have been launched, among them the construction of sewerage systems; the installation of aerators to increase the oxygen in the water; and the control of industrial, agricultural and household pollution sources.

“The cleanup of the Danshui River is a highly challenging mission that calls for long-term dedication,” says Lin Wen-xen, a section chief at the Department of Environmental Protection of the Taipei City Government. “Still, by cooperating with central government authorities and other local governments, as well as by holding community activities and educational lectures, we are on the way to making it better.”

The city government’s goals for the Danshui this year are to deodorize the section of the river that runs through its administrative zone and make it safe enough for all water activities except swimming, Lin adds. Toward this end, approximately 60 percent of households in Taipei City have been connected to public sewerage systems. Most of the remaining households treat wastewater via septic tanks or other on-site methods.

In terms of the progress made thus far, Lin says the RPI classification for pollution along most of the Danshui River system has improved from serious to moderate. Also, in 2008 dissolved oxygen in the Danshui reached an average of more than 2 milligrams per liter, whereas before 2002, the average was less than 1 milligram per liter. The goal is to reach more than 3 milligrams per liter, a level capable of sustaining most aquatic life.

David Lee, director-general of the Water Resources Bureau under the Taipei County Government, believes that detecting and directly controlling pollution at its source is the most effective approach to improving water quality. Some of the chief culprits in Taipei County are gravel-processing factories. Gravel is often found along riverbeds, and extracting it increases water turbidity, as does washing the gravel and returning the wastewater to the river. Some of the gravel mining plants in Taipei County have been found to have been operating without the necessary permits, and in these cases the county government has responded by tearing down their structures. For those operating legally but discharging excessive waste directly into rivers, the county not only imposes heavy fines, but also temporarily dismantles their equipment, forcing them to suspend operations. The county government’s efforts are ongoing in this regard.

Boosted Connections

Taipei County also boosted the percentage of households connected to public sewerage systems to 19 percent in 2008, more than doubling the 7 percent recorded in 2005. Many of the unconnected households continue to use on-site systems such as septic tanks. Currently, the total treatment rate of sewage is around 50 percent. The county has also constructed 16 interception and 18 on-site wastewater treatment systems. Through increasing the rate of sewage of household connection to public systems and continuing to build interception and on-site treatment systems, Taipei County expects the total treatment rate will reach about 80 percent by the end of this year.

The EPA also provides funding to local governments for environmentally friendly landscaping projects such as waterfront parks, as well as dedicated bike lanes along the riverbanks to promote public access to the river for leisure, the administration’s Chen Shyan-heng adds. At present, the green areas along the Danshui watershed have been expanded to 1,484 hectares, compared with 244 hectares in 1994, while the bike paths along the river measure 256 kilometers in total length.

During his mayoral election campaign, another of Taipei City Mayor Hau Lung-bin’s pledges regarding the Danshui was the creation of a distinctive urban waterfront atmosphere with convenient recreational facilities and landscaped areas. Hau’s aim is to complete a scheme similar to the one undertaken along Kaohsiung City’s Love River by former Kaohsiung City Mayor Frank Hsieh during Hsieh’s two terms from 1998 to 2005. Part of the Taipei revitalization effort includes renovating piers for tourism purposes, the development of waterfront parks and promotion of river activities and nature conservation.

Another of Taipei City’s projects aimed at getting people closer to the Danshui is the “Blue Highway” system of tourist ferries. Several ferry routes are currently in operation, with the main trunk stretching from the river’s northernmost reaches at Fisherman’s Wharf in Danshui Township to Dadaocheng Wharf in Datong District, near the city center. Ferry rides are also available between Danshui and Bali, as well as Bali and Fisherman’s Wharf.

Taipei City Government’s Lin Wen-xen says the Danshui River was northern Taiwan’s busiest transportation artery prior to the 20th century and has long played an important role in the region’s culture and economy. “The Danshui River is historically and culturally significant; it is strongly linked with the everyday lifestyle of people in the area,” Lin says. “By seeking to recover its original ecological features and creating a pleasant riverfront area, we hope to build Taipei into a green waterfront city. This will lead to a more sustainable mode of development and help to upgrade the city’s competitiveness as a tourist destination.”

David Lee of the Taipei County Water Resources Bureau says the local government is also working to revitalize riverfront areas along the Danshui. County projects that have been completed or are underway include expanding parks, cycling paths and pedestrian walkways, as well as recreational facilities that include caf and snack bars. Ecological corridors and wetland nature reserves have been built to promote public access to and understanding of the river.

Healthier Rivers

The combined results of the central and local government efforts to clean up Taiwan’s rivers have been promising, especially since the introduction of on-site pollution control systems in 2002. The proportion of heavily polluted river sections across Taiwan has seen a dramatic decrease from 15.8 percent in 2003 to 4.7 percent in August 2008, the EPA’s data shows. A few rivers, including the Keelung River, a tributary of the Danshui, and Putzu Creek, which runs through Chiayi County in southern Taiwan, have been entirely removed from the list of the watercourses considered seriously polluted.

The public has noticed the results of the central and local governments’ efforts to improve water quality and recreational opportunities, especially along the Danshui. “Improving the basic health of the Danshui River as well as boosting its attractiveness to visitors has been our top priority, as it will upgrade the area’s quality of life,” David Lee says. “We’re delighted to see not only more people access the river for leisure, but also an increase in both the kinds and quantity of fish swimming in the river. They’re the signs of the waterway’s revival.”

Write to Kelly Her at kelly@mail.gio.gov.tw