To maintain the quality of water bodies, Taiwan’s Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) initiated the 5-year Water quality improvement and environmental management project in 2012. Taiwan EPA also has been launching the Working regulation for total maximum daily load (TMDL) in water pollution project in 2013, so that appropriate control actions could be taken, and water quality standards achieved. The objective of this project is to improve the effectiveness of the working regulations of TMDL, including reviewing the TMDL list , to conduct feasibility analysis for municipal separate sewer system (MS4) and best practice study/coach, and to apply and coach the TMDL process to 12 cities and counties in northern Taiwan. Another activity, falling under the purview of this project, is to evaluate the performance of water quality improvement in northern Taiwan (Tamsui River, Nankan River and Lao-Jie River) by issuing the improvement plan to critical river sections, investigating water quality and quantity for 20 places, and providing recommendations for future remediation implementation. The project objectives also include assisting in the completion of the final report, planning and execution of the following project, and reviewing the water quality improvement strategy by organizing five review meetings for rivers and reservoirs in offshore islands. In addition, this program would also evaluate water quality management effectiveness for 12 cities in northern Taiwan by analyzing the key performance indicator reasonableness of critical sites. Moreover, in order to assist EPA to encourage local governments to self-manage water quality improvement by reviewing its performance, this project would impart technical assistance on operations and maintenance of specific equipment for onsite wastewater treatment (over a total of 12 sessions). We would also be conducting a related conference, wherein experts, scholars, and representatives of local governments and engineering firms would discuss foreign technology, experience and case analysis. For assisting EPA in monitoring its environmental protection performance, this project collects the result of water quality remediation across 12 cities and counties, as well as the performance of wetlands, for public disclosure and attention. Updating the water pollution remediation website periodically, and checking site visits’ activity also fall within the ambit of the program.

Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDL), River Remediation, Water Quality Management and Evaluation.