To address the challenges of extreme hydrological events caused by climate change and earthquake risks, the Fourth River Management Branch (hereafter referred to as the "Fourth Branch") conducts annual periodic inspections of water conservancy infrastructure within its jurisdiction. These inspections are carried out prior to the flood season in accordance with Article 49 of the Water Act and the Regulations for Inspection and Safety Evaluation of Water Conservancy Infrastructure. This year, the Fourth Branch has moved beyond routine checks by implementing "Institutionalized Re-inspections" and "Scientific/Technological Testing," while strengthening mid-year tracking and specific risk prevention mechanisms to ensure seamless disaster preparedness.
I. Mid-Year Tracking and Key Disaster Prevention: Rolling Reviews
To ensure that defects identified during annual inspections are substantially improved and to mitigate the impact of typhoons and heavy rains, the Fourth Branch held multiple coordination meetings in the second half of 2025 to review improvement progress and high-risk areas:
- Tracking Periodic Inspection Improvements: Coordination meetings were held on August 28 and October 30, 2025, to monitor the status of improvement cases.
- Post-Disaster Patrols & Technology Integration: Following the heavy rains on July 31, the Branch conducted specialized patrols to identify new degradation sites, erosion hotspots on high floodplains, and suspected embankment undermining. Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) was deployed to detect deep-seated risks invisible to the naked eye.
- Progress Control: Improvement progress for each river section is strictly monitored. For cases where improvements are not yet complete, specific flood prevention measures must be formulated to ensure facility safety.
- Chingshui River Barrier Lake Risk Prevention: On October 23, 2025, a risk prevention meeting was held regarding the Chingshui River barrier lake. The meeting reviewed monitoring data and preventive testing for the Caoling Barrier Lake, strengthening early warning mechanisms to reduce the potential threat of large-scale landslides to downstream areas.
II. Pre-Inspection: Professional Training and Technological Adoption
To enhance the practical skills of staff for the upcoming 2026 (115th) inspections, the Fourth Branch held a "2026 Periodic Inspection Pre-operation Training" on October 31, 2025.
- Post-Inspection: Institutionalized Re-inspection and SOP Refinement
To ensure the quality of inspections, the Fourth Branch has adopted several standardized procedures:
- Standardized Earthquake Response SOP: Drawing from the experience of the April 3rd earthquake, the Branch established an "Irregular Post-Earthquake Inspection SOP". This combines volunteer patrols, drones, and CCTV to rapidly verify the status of high-risk areas.
- Institutionalized Re-inspections: Internal re-inspections for 2025 were conducted from January 21 to January 23. The team performed field checks at 42 key locations, including the Mailiao Township Sixth Naphtha Cracker linking road in Yunlin County and Hanbao Village in Changhua County, to confirm the effectiveness of "Immediate Improvement" and "Attention Required" items.
Through a rigorous protection network consisting of "Routine Periodic Inspections, Enhanced Post-Disaster Patrols, and Mid-Year Rolling Tracking," combined with advanced technologies like GPR, the Fourth River Management Branch continues to strengthen the resilience of water conservancy infrastructure to protect the lives and property of the public.