The beautiful landscape created during the first phase of Liu River dredging project is not only commended by the public but also recently passed the test of extremely heavy rain without sustaining any structural damages. Mayor Chia-lung Lin inspected the site on the 6th and announced that the City Government has successfully obtained funding from the central government to implement the second phase of Liu River dredging project. Phase 2 consists of 2 stages: Stage 1 incorporates Minquan Rd. to Linsen Rd. and stage 2 extends upstream and downstream to encompass the lower stream section of Linsen Rd. and the upper stream section of the North District. The EPA has approved NT$ 18 million planning design fee for the City Government, while the total budget of NT$ 850 million for the two-phase dredging project has already been incorporated into the Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program.
Mayor Lin visited the Liu River Banyan Tree Square to listen to briefing by Water Resources Bureau of Taichung City Government Director Ting-chang Chou, who explained that the Liu River has passed the extremely heavy rain test. City Councilor Su-chen Chiu, Chao-kuo Chiang and numerous heads of boroughs also attended the briefing. According to Director Chou, Liu River is essentially a drainage channel, thus phase one of the dredging adopted the Low Impact Development (LID) method to increase flood channeling cross section, purify water, create habitats and a waterfront environment, thereby endowing it with the functions of “waterfront recreational venue and flood prevention”. Therefore, Liu River was able to pass the test of extremely heavy rain.
According to Mayor Lin, Liu River often flooded and overflowed during sudden heavy rain, after completion of phase one of the project, many people have raised doubts about whether a stunning-looking river such as Liu River is able to withstand the impact of a deluge. As the saying goes “it’s what lies beneath the surface that counts”, box culverts are buried under the Liu River, and the concealed hardware is the secret weapon to flood prevention during heavy downpour. In addition, the river is expanded to form a gentle slope that serves as a beautiful embankment during normal times and increases the river channel’s capacity in the event of a flood.
Mayor Lin believes that Taichung City is fortunate to have the urban river. It is a pity that it was once abandoned, abused and turned into a stinking ditch, but after dredging, the river became a citizen-friendly venue. To use woman as metaphor, Liu River is usually a “girl next door” who is friendly and lovable, during floods, however, she becomes a “resolute, sophisticated lady” who will stand her ground; after the flood, she turns into an “unattractive but loving mother”, albeit a little dirty and unpleasant to look at, all she needs is a little tidying up to restore her loving appearance. In other words, she is a safe, clean and gorgeous river.
After inspection today, Mayor Lin also announced that thanks to successful experiences in dredging the Liu River, the EPA has approved the City Government budget of NT$ 18 million in planning and designing second phase of the Liu River dredging project, which will extend in the upstream and downstream directions from phase one. Stage 1 (incorporates Minquan Rd. to Linsen Rd.) will commence next year and finish in 2020 at a cost of NT$ 450 million. Stage 2 (incorporates the lower stream section of Linsen Rd. and the upper stream section of North District) will be launched after stage 1 at a cost of NT$ 400 million. The overall design direction will continue to focus on LID, ecology and nature. Two stages of the Liu River second phase dredging project will cost NT$ 850 million, and the budget has been submitted to Executive Yuan’s Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program.
Mayor Lin indicated that Taichung City has submitted a total of NT$ 18.4 billion in water environment infrastructure to the Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program, and each project has received recognition from the central government. “Opportunity is reserved for those who are ready”, Taichung City Government has already completed review and evaluation of all rivers, therefore when the opportunity knocks we will be able to seize it with both hands. Mayor Lin also suggested critics of forward-looking water environment project should definitely pay a visit to Liu River and see its importance with their own eyes.
Besides the Liu River, Taichung City’s Green River dredging project is slated for completion either late this year or early next year, while the project will also extend to the upstream and downstream of Han River and Kangqiao. Mayor Lin assured the public not to worry, because flood prevention, waterfront environment and water resource utilization projects are being implemented concurrently.
Mayor Lin also commented that the reason the extremely heavy rainfall did not cause severe disaster in Taichung is attributed to the successful river management by the Taichung City Government, where the goal of creating a waterfront environment for the public that doubles as a flood prevention during heavy rain has been accomplished. Together with large scale promotion of storm sewer construction projects, Dali and Taiping – regions originally prone to flooding – now no longer suffer the problem. Mayor Lin also thanked cleaning crew from the Environmental Protection Bureau, because they are like Ninja Turtles who enter the sewer system and ditches before the flood season to clear out a 428 km of drainage to keep the system flowing freely.