Water to resume being sourced from Keelung River after oil spill

Taipei, Dec. 10 (CNA) Taiwan Water Corp. (TWC) will start resuming the intake of water from the Keelung River on Thursday following an oil spill in late November, after confirming that it meets drinking-water standards, the state-run company said Wednesday.

TWC Chairperson Lee Jia-rong (李嘉榮) said TWC has strengthened its monitoring of water quality at the suspected source of the spill from Dec. 6 to 9, including rapid screening for odor and volatile compounds, after Keelung authorities completed dredging and anti-pollution measures on Dec. 5.

No traces of oil have been detected for several days and third-party tests have verified that the water meets both drinking water source standards and drinking water standards, he said, though the actual source of the pollution has yet to be identified.

Water intake from the Keelung River, suspended since an oil slick was detected on Nov. 27, will resume at 8 a.m. Thursday but be halted at night, Lee said. Intake hours will be gradually extended depending on the stability of the water's quality.

The incident affected about 180,000 households, who will be broadly identified and not have to pay about half a month of water fees, Lee said.

That exemption will result in at least NT$20 million (US$640,413) in lost revenue for TWC, Lee said.

At the same time, the company and environmental agencies are working with prosecutors to trace the pollution's source, which, once found, will be required to pay the company compensation.

Deputy Environment Minister Yeh Jiunn-Horng (葉俊宏), who also attended the press conference, said suspects have been identified, and investigators are currently looking into the case and collecting evidence.

On future pollution-prevention efforts, Wang Yueh-pin (王嶽斌), director-general of the Ministry of Environment's (MOENV) Department of Water Quality Protection, said Keelung authorities will form a specialized inspection team.

The team will be responsible for identifying pollution hot spots, monitoring land use in water-source protection areas, and strengthening patrols targeting potential pollution sources.

In a statement Wednesday, the MOENV said it had directed the environmental protection agencies of Keelung City and New Taipei to step up patrols in their respective areas.

Since the incident, a total of 65 businesses have been inspected, eight sampled, and two reported as of Tuesday.