TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – If the water level on Sun Moon Lake drops an additional 2 meters to 740 m above sea level, all piers on Nantou’s scenic lake will be closed and shipping suspended, reports said Thursday.
The current water level is 5.57 m below the full level, and has fallen from 745 m a month ago to 742.91 m, per CNA. As a result, the Tourism Administration’s Sun Moon Lake National Scenic Area management rearranged traffic on the lake, closing down or moving some floating piers.
The measure was deemed necessary to guarantee the safety of visitors wanting to take a tour of the lake. Security guards have been helping passengers manage the steeper descent to piers to board the ships at four locations around the lake, management said.
The statue of nine frogs in the lake, often used as a measure of drought, has been completely above water for a month, with only the bottom frog still covered in mud. There is no sign of any rainfall in the near future, while farmers downstream need water to irrigate their fields, officials said.
If the water level falls below 740 m below sea level, the incline at the piers will be too steep for travelers, leading to a temporary suspension of all tour boat traffic on the lake.
