"A metropolis should not have severe flooding!" Mayor Lin Chia-lung said, when presiding over a comprehensive water control project meeting held at Taiwan Boulevard Municipal Building on February 10. “Taichung is upgraded to a special municipality. We must pay much more attention to flood control. As typhoon season is approaching, I hope each and every bureau and unit must strengthen and integrate all the flood control measures to take good care of the flood-prone areas. I hope we are fully prepared before the flood season.”

“We should apply both temporary and permanent cures to the flooding problems,” added Mayor Lin. “Last year, a woman surnamed Chen was drowned to death at the Minsheng underpass in Dajia District. We should eliminate such tragedies altogether.”

In terms of temporary cure, the city government has strengthened control measures at 33 underpasses, grading them by flooding severity levels and equipping them with different levels of security measures accordingly. For example, there are 9 underpasses being graded as Class A and being installed with “automatic gates” which will close the underpasses to prevent vehicles from entering when flood water reaches a certain height.

In terms of permanent cure, the city government has already budgeted NT$40 million for the Water Resources Bureau to construct an intercepting drain at the upstream of Minsheng underpass in Dajia District. The project will begin soon in April and the waterway will intercept surface runoff and guide the water to Houli for drainage.

Chou Ting-chang (周廷彰), Director-general of Water Resources Bureau, briefed on the meeting that his Water Resources Bureau has formulated a strategy to “retain water upstream, reduce flood midstream, and control flood downstream”. He also mentioned that his Bureau will improve 30 flood-prone areas in Taichung this year. For example, a range of flood-control measures, including stream regulation, regional drainage remediation, construction of storm water sewers and multiple-purpose parks with retention ponds, will be implemented at for the flood-prone areas in Tali, Taiping, Wurih and Shalu Districts.

Director-general Chou also said that a number of flood control projects have been under way or will be carried out soon. For example, the intercepting drain project at the Minsheng underpass in Dajia District will begin very soon. For the Nanshan Intercepting Drain project, land expropriation will be completed in 2015, the widening of hillside drainage system will be done in 2017, and the entire project will be completed in 2019, when the flooding problem in areas surrounding the Tatu Mountains will be effectively improved. He also pointed out that 36 flood disaster prevention communities have been set up where residents have been well trained for flood control, water pumps have been well prepared, and Taichung Hydrological APP has been established for their use.

Mayor Lin said that the central government has put aside a special budget of NT$66 billion for "Comprehensive Watershed Management Plan," but Taichung has only the Nanshan Intercepting Drain included in the plan. He therefore asked the Water Resources Bureau to examine carefully if other projects are eligible. He also requested each and every bureau and unit to work with the Water Resources Bureau to conduct a thorough physical examination on the road-side ditches and have them dredged. “Please pay special attention to Taiwan Boulevard. I don’t want to see it flooded under only a slightly heavy rainfall. It is a shame!” added Mayor Lin.

Mayor Lin also asked that the private water pumps be investigated and be used in emergency by the government. He also instructed to consider whether to add large mobile water pumps and distribute them to different spots. He also ordered the Research, Development and Evaluation Commission to arrange before the end of March a workshop for disaster prevention and crisis management and put the learned theories into practice.

Finally, Mayor Lin made a few conclusions. He asked the related bureaus and units to prepare budgets for flood control and actively seek funds from the central government for the purchase of flood-control equipment. He also appointed Deputy Mayor Lin to lead the “Smart Disaster Prevention Promotion Team (SDPPT).” He said he will attend all the drills held by the SDPPT to examine the effectiveness of exercise. He ordered the Water Resources Bureau to put the improvement project at the Minsheng underpass in Dajia District in priority. “This project should be financed by our 2015 annual budget in the first priority. If there is a budget shortage, make and submit a supplementary budget. We must rectify the flooding problems in that area as early as possible,” added Mayor Lin.

Mayor Lin also asked the Water Resources Bureau to work with the Environmental Protection Bureau in cleaning up before the Lunar New Year holiday all the major rivers flowing through the densely populated urban areas. He also mentioned that the Nanshan Intercepting Drain has been delayed for 40 years and the Water Resources Bureau must make sure to complete the first phase of land expropriation in 2015 and the first phase improvement of the hillside drainage system in 2017. “During the construction of storm water sewer system in Tali and Taiping areas, residents may feel inconvenient. My colleagues at the Water Resources Bureau please do me a favor to well communicate with the residents there,” Mayor Lin said.