Shigang Dam Introduction
Shigang Dam is located at the lower reaches of the Dajia River and is responsible for providing water for the livelihood of residents in the Greater Taichung area. In 1954, the Ministry of Economic Affairs, along with relevant units, established the "Dajia River Project Committee" to promote multi-objective development, including irrigation, power generation, and flood prevention. In addition to constructing multiple power plants, dams were built downstream to regulate the tail water of these power plants. The proposal to construct Shigang Dam was made by the former Water Resources Planning Commission of the Ministry of Economic Affairs in 1959, with construction starting on October 31, 1974, and completion on October 15, 1977. Shigang Dam is a concrete gravity dam designed and constructed entirely by Taiwanese engineers. Since its completion, it has been supplying public water, industrial water, agricultural irrigation water, and water for vessels at Taichung Port to parts of Greater Taichung and Changhua County, playing an inseparable role in the economic development of central Taiwan. On September 21, 1999, the Jiji earthquake struck, affecting the area around Shigang Dam due to uplift and displacement of the terrain. After the earthquake, some facilities of Shigang Dam were damaged due to the terrain's impact, posing challenges to its water diversion and storage functions. The government actively repaired and planned restoration projects, successfully stabilizing the water supply and breathing new life into Shigang Dam. With the collaboration of the Water Resources Agency and the Central Region Water Resources Office, an emergency repair was conducted to quickly address the water supply issues in the Taichung area. Additionally, short-term, medium-term, and long-term plans for the disaster recovery of Shigang Dam were developed and executed sequentially. By the end of 2000, all emergency repair projects were completed, and by the end of 2001, a new fish passage was constructed, resulting in a transformation of Shigang Dam after the earthquake and a new beginning. (This article is extracted from the website of the Shigang Dam Management Center, Central Region Water Resources Office, Water Resources Agency, Ministry of Economic Affairs.)
