The water quality of waterways within the jurisdiction of Yunlin County has continued to show signs of improvement in recent years. Key initiatives launched by the county government include ongoing monitoring of pollution sources, active inter-agency cooperation on waterway pollution remediation measures, and being fully committed to the targets under the “2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).” Water pollution is emphasized in all local county issues including circular economy, environmental protection, and industrial development.
Agriculture is the backbone of Yunlin County. Major local waterways include Zhuoshui River, Xinhuwei River and Beigang River. Important regional drainage facilities include the Zuoliao main drainage channel, Magongzuo main drainage channel, Niutiaowan main drainage channel, and so on. In past years, all major local waterways and main drainage channels have been affected by livestock wastewater and domestic sewage along their banks. Water quality monitoring produced readings with moderate or higher levels of pollution. The county has been quite proactive in our promotion of waterway pollution remediation and improvement measures. Analysis of pollution sources found that livestock wastewater accounted for 73.2% of all pollution in the Zhuoshui River basin, 69.1% of all pollution in the Xinhuwei River basin, and 47.1% of all pollution in the Beigang River basin. Livestock wastewater therefore accounted for a significant proportion of all pollution in river basins. A report by the Council of Agriculture also found that there are 1,200 pig farms and more than 1.535 million pigs in Yunlin County. This accounted for 29.48% of the national pig population and made us the leading pork producer in Taiwan.
Yunlin County Government carries out water pollution audits and controls for livestock farms within its jurisdiction. We also actively promote a policy of livestock-as-resources. The county currently has 989 approved livestock-as-resource projects (sites) that reduce the discharge of livestock wastewater into waterways by 2.6683 million tonnes a year. The county has so far installed 46 waterway quality monitoring devices that closely monitor water quality around the clock. In the future, Yunlin County will continue to expand the application of smart monitoring and introduce high-tech enforcement. Pollution prevention measures from the waterways to the sea will be strengthened to accelerate improvements to the county’s longstanding environmental problems with livestock farms. Future efforts will focus on the promotion of three short, medium, and long-term waterway remediation targets:
In the short-term, the Environmental Protection Bureau (EPB) of Yunlin County will partner with the Agriculture Department, Yunlin University of Science and Technology, and Huwei University of Science and Technology, as well as Formosa Plastics to set up an expert livestock mentoring team made up of industry, government, and academic experts. A “MOU on Yunlin Livestock Sustainability Expert Mentoring Team” will also be signed by all participants. Agricultural agencies will be asked to step up their mentoring efforts and grants as well. Site-specific mentoring will be employed to improve the efficiency of livestock wastewater treatment, actively upgrade their on-site wastewater treatment methods and reduce their contribution to waterway pollution. This will strengthen the county’s resolve to improve the water quality of Xinhuwei River.
In the medium-term, power generation facilities fueled by methane from livestock manure will be built. Large farms will be encouraged to treat wastewater (effluent) generated by smaller farms. Regional on-site water quality purification facilities will be planned to alleviate the serious waterway pollution problem caused by livestock wastewater and domestic sewage in the county.
In the long-term, methane power plants and on-site water quality purification facilities will continue to be constructed for wastewater treatment. Water quality sensors powered by smart AI technology will be rolled out en masse for comprehensive water quality monitoring. Short, medium and long-term reduction measures will effectively reduce pollution in Xinhuwei River and accelerate the realization of the SDG on eliminating severe waterway pollution.
The county has now installed water quality sensors in key pollution hot spots, sensitive river sections, and complaint hot spots. In response to common problems with wastewater operations at livestock farms within the county jurisdiction, EPB will set up an expert mentoring team to provide mentoring services. Livestock farms with poor mentoring performance or which engage in illegal discharge will be subjected to random audits by the EPB. Farm operators are advised to not try their luck and operate their wastewater (effluent) treatment facilities properly to avoid penalties. County residents are also invited to join in watching over the quality of waterways and water bodies near their homes to stamp out illegal pollution and work together to protect the water quality of the county's waterways.
