TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — As the threat of a drought looms, the water level at Keelung’s Xinshan Reservoir dropped yet another 1.12% on Saturday (Aug. 27), hitting 37.3% of its capacity.

While attending the Chao Jing Bay Festival on Sunday (Aug. 28), Mayor Lin Yu-chang (林右昌) said he hopes the forecasted northeast monsoon will bring ample rain to the city next week so there will be no need to worry about water shortages, CNA reported. Parts of Keelung City have already faced water outages, but in the past week the water supply has remained normal.

Lin said there are currently over 30 water trucks on standby, which will be deployed to areas with low water pressure or water shortages. However, he added that rain would be the best solution to the current dilemma.

The Ministry of Economic Affairs held a meeting on Saturday to discuss current water supply levels and decided to adjust water alert levels. Starting on Saturday, water levels in New Taipei (excluding Xizhi District), Taoyuan, and Tainan were set to green alert, while starting Saturday (Sept. 3), water levels in Keelung and Xizhi District, New Taipei would be set to yellow alert, meaning water will be supplied at lowered pressure between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m.

According to the ministry, rainfall in Taiwan since July this year has been scarce, reaching only approximately 40% of the historical average.