TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Keelung Mayor Hsieh Kuo-liang (謝國樑) said Sunday that a malfunctioning oil film sensor at Taiwan Water Corporation’s Badu Pumping Station led residents to report an oily smell in their tap water, per CNA.
Taiwan Water said it stopped drawing river water on Thursday after an oil slick was detected near the facility and switched to reservoir supplies. The company later deployed personnel to carry out several rounds of system-wide flushing, as Taiwan Water said water-quality tests confirmed that tap water now meets all safety standards.
Hsieh said the sensor failure caused widespread inconvenience, prompting the city government to issue a fine as early as Monday afternoon. He criticized the company for lacking adequate equipment to detect the spill.
The source of the oil has not yet been identified. Hsieh said the Environmental Protection Bureau and police have been investigating the surrounding area for several days, and so far, no evidence of deliberate wastewater dumping has been found.
However, after discussions with experts from Taiwan Water and other agencies, Hsieh said illegal activity remains highly probable. Authorities have been ordered to continue investigating upstream for suspicious activity.
Hsieh said the unresolved cause of the incident has caused public distress, and he pledged that municipal agencies will work to determine the source and provide answers as soon as possible. As a precaution, the city ordered comprehensive sampling at all 28 schools served by the Singshan Water Treatment Plant near Singshan Reservoir.
The city advised schools and daycare centers to suspend the use of tap water and temporarily switch to bottled water, with the municipal government covering the cost.
Hsieh said the disruption shows Taiwan Water violated the Drinking Water Management Act, and the city may issue another round of fines on Tuesday. He added that the number of water trucks deployed over the past two days was insufficient and urged Taiwan Water to increase the fleet beginning Monday.
Households that continue to notice residual odors are advised to clean tanks and flush taps. Taiwan Water recommended residents turn off water pumps and completely drain tanks as the first step in removing contamination.
