Taipei's water department takes its work very, very seriously. It provides 3.2 million residents with 2.5 million cubic metres of drinkable water a day. But it seems to work just as diligently at getting citizens to appreciate all the hard work that goes into that process.
The department's newest innovation, opened by the mayor in May, is its Water Resource Education Exhibition, a play and instruction area aimed at children. Washing machines, dishwashers, showers, toilets and kitchen sinks stand beside Monopoly-style board games painted onto the floor. Youngsters can have fun and simultaneously learn about where their city's water supply comes from.
There's much more. The education exhibition is part of the Taipei Water Park, which is adjacent to the Museum of Water. The museum building was the city's original pumping station. Opened in 1907, it drew water from Xindian Creek, filtered it slowly through sand beds, pumped it up to a hilltop reservoir, then let it flow from there by gravity to a mere 120,000 households.
The old pumping station's Grecian columns today provide a popular backdrop for photographers working for advertising agencies and the pre-wedding photo business. Few visitors today inspect its carefully dusted pumps, gauges and turbines. If they did, they might ponder on the distinctly international nature of the place. The machines were variously manufactured in the United States, Japan and Kilmarnock, Scotland.
The pump house was designed by a Japanese architect based on plans by a Scottish civil engineer who tramped the island in search of pure streams and non-malarial lakes. But he must have stumbled on the other kind, as well, for he died of malaria at the age of 44. The disease was rampant in Taiwan until the 1960s, when it was finally defeated by spraying the island's swamps.
As for the Water Park, in summer it is full of children in mauve and green plastic caps. They jump into the tepid water, venture down slides and cavort under rotating wheels, squealing with delight and conquered trepidation. For young adults, though, this cannot compare with the more challenging allure of the Dongshan River Water Park near Lotung, on the east coast, with its boat races and outdoor stage shows.