New Taipei doubles Linkou sewage treatment capacity

NEW TAIPEI (TVBS News) — New Taipei City Mayor Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜) announced on Monday (March 17) the completion of the expansion of the Linkou Water Resource Recycling Center (林口水資源回收中心), which now doubles its sewage treatment capacity from 23,000 to 46,000 tons per day.

The New Taipei City Government undertook this project to meet the saturated sewage treatment demands caused by the area's population surge. This expansion project aims to serve approximately 170,000 residents in the Linkou (林口) and Bali (八里) areas, particularly the former, which has experienced 130,000 population growth due to transportation infrastructure developments.

Mayor Hou highlighted that the expansion ensures a 100% or higher sewage connection rate in Linkou, facilitating water resource reuse and enhancing the local environment. The expansion faced limited site space, underground obstacles, and a pandemic-induced labor shortage. To solve the issues, the team overcame them by implementing Building Information Modeling (BIM) technology to improve efficiency.

Sung Te-jen (宋德仁), director of the city’s Water Resources Department (新北市水利局), noted the project has invested approximately NT$750 million, supported by central government subsidies, to complete the second phase of the Linkou facility's expansion.

The expansion of the recycling center, completed and operational since Jan. 17, aims to meet the sewage treatment needs of a projected population of 170,000 by 2034. Sung also outlined plans to build five additional recovery centers to reduce Bali's burden and increase river base flow.

Sung also suggested that the expanded water recycling center be equipped with a backup system to ensure wastewater has been adequately treated and its safety. The treated water will be discharged into the "Hongshui River" (紅水溪), improving river water quality and the ecological environment effectively.

Furthermore, Mayor Hou expressed concern with odors from wastewater treatment and urged continued efforts to enhance odor control measures, ensuring a high quality of life for nearby residents.