TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Dahu Lake in Taipei’s Neihu District is not open for water activities and any groups or individuals caught swimming, bathing, fishing, or rowing boats, will be given citations, the city’s Parks and Street Lights Office (PSLO) announced in a press release on Saturday (Aug. 20).

The PSLO said that Dahu Lake is an important flood detention pond and that the office has installed 12 floating islands with water plants on them to provide resting places for birds and aquatic animals.

Article 13 of the Taipei City Park Management Ordinance prohibits such activities including swimming, bathing, washing, fishing, releasing animals into the wild, boating, or other activities that pollute or poison the water, or do harm to plants or animals, in pools and lakes in parks. Violators will be fined between NT$1,200 (US$40) and NT$6,000.

Floriculture Experiment Center director Song Fu-hua (宋馥華) said the Alliance for Open Policy of Water Sports’ earlier application to row boats on Dahu Lake had been rejected on the ground that it violates the city ordinance. However, the group protested the rejection of their application by rowing boats on Dahu Lake at 3 p.m. on July 31, which violated the ordinance, Song added.

The PSLO took measures to stop the group’s behavior and advised them not to repeat the violation or face a fine.

The office maintained that city parks are not optimal areas for water activities and urged the public not to cause disturbances to lakes in the city, the release said.

According to the release, the office will respond to the alliance’s request to open Dahu Lake for boating and other water activities by holding discussions with experts and scholars on the matter and consulting locals’ opinions before any final decisions are made.

(Facebook, Alliance for Open Policy of Water Sports photo)