Taiwan Water: May 29, 2008: Green Island needs wastewater treatment plant.

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Peter Huston

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http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/local/offshore%20islands/2008/05/29/158544/Green%2DIsland.htm

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Green Island urges water treatment system

CNA

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Green Island, located off the southeastern coast of Taiwan, urgently needs a waste water treatment plant to prevent further pollution of its coastal waters and consequent damage to its coral reefs, a researcher said Wednesday.

Chen Chao-lun, a research fellow at the Biodiversity Research Center of Academia Sinica, said waste water is believed to be the prime cause of "black-band disease," which originates from a blue-green algae that kills off coral reefs.

Green Island, which housed political prisoners during Taiwan's martial law period, is now a favorite site for scuba divers because of the rich and diverse marine ecology supported by its coral reefs.

The island, which has a registered population of 3,000, is categorized as a township of Taitung County in eastern Taiwan.

Chen said further research is needed to determine whether waste water is directly related to black-band disease, but added that the research team led by Chen is sure that the most severe coral damage has occurred near the most densely populated areas of the island.

At least, an easy-to-use waste water treatment plant should be set up soon to help address the problem, Chen said.

Echoing Chen's appeal, an official at the East Coast National Scenic Area Administration said Green Island draws more than 300,000 visitors per year, which makes it urgent for a waste water treatment facility to be installed to help protect the island's ecology.

The official suggested that treatment plants for both rain water and waste water should be built at local schools, hotels and the prison, before installing larger systems for households.

According to an official at Taitung County's Environmental Protection Bureau, Green Island discharges up to 1,550 tons of waste water per day into the sea.

The central government had planned to build waste water treatment systems in three of the island's villages. However, authorities in charge of the plan had the second thoughts and decided instead to build a recycling and reuse facility, the official said, adding that further evaluation is needed.