Severe water shortage forces farmers to pump groundwater for irrigation

Water restrictions have tightened further in Taiwan, and some areas of Chianan were forced to stop irrigation during the first phase of rice cultivation. Many farmers had to switch to pumping groundwater to irrigate their fields.  According to monitoring data, the groundwater level in Chiayi District has dropped by a meter since the same period last year. The drought and water shortage have significantly reduced agricultural yields. Because groundwater levels have dropped, the amount of water able to be pumped has also fallen sharply, leading to an increase in the time required to pump groundwater and a subsequent surge in electricity bills. The current situation for farmers is highly challenging.

Water restrictions in Chiayi are now on orange alert for "reduced water supply." If the water shortage continues to worsen, the country may face an even more severe drought. At this difficult time, everyone must work together and save water if we wish to survive the drought.

以下為中文翻譯

缺水嚴重　抽地下水灌溉成現況

全台水情吃緊，嘉南地區部分區域一期稻作被迫停灌，使得許多農民只得轉而抽取地下水灌溉以從事農業工作。而根據監測資料顯示，嘉義區地下水位已經比去年同期下降了1公尺。乾旱缺水除了使農作產量減少之外，又因為地下水位下降，出水量銳減，導致抽地下水的時間增加，電費也跟著暴增，對於農民來說，情況可以說是困難重重。

嘉義地區水情燈號現已轉為「減量供水」的橙燈，若水情持續不樂觀，恐將面臨更嚴峻的旱象。在這個艱難時刻，全民更須節約用水，以共同度過抗旱時期。

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