Water Resources Planning Branch, WRA, MOEAWater Resources Planning Branch, WRA, MOEA

River Management Planning and Policy Implementation

Format for Preparing Documents and Drawings for River Management Planning and Management Plans

Since the Water Resources Agency (WRA) promulgated the “Format for River Management Planning and Management Plan Documents and Drawings” in 2019, a number of important regulations and programs concerning runoff allocation, basin adaptation, public participation, and communication have been announced and implemented by the WRA. Therefore, it has become necessary to continuously revise the requirements for the preparation of documents and drawings by incorporating the above developments and user feedback.

The Water Resources Planning Branch invited relevant River Management Branches, experts, scholars, and other personnel to participate.After 15 rounds of meetings, discussions, and revisions, the “Format for River Management Planning and Management Plan Documents and Drawings (2025 Revised Edition)” was completed and officially promulgated by the WRA in September 2025.

Major revisions include:

1. For river reaches where flood-control measures remain controversial or consensus cannot be reached, diversified flood-management adaptation measures may be adopted for short-term flood control.
2. Matters requiring attention and possible forms of public participation.
3. Methods for reviewing cross-river structures.
4. Reference illustrations for relevant delineation principles (Figure 1).
5. The officially announced maps (Figure 2) were revised to use overlaid topographic maps as the base maps, with coordinates of turning points added and summary tables prepared.
6. Requirements were added regarding the contents to be displayed in aerial videos and their legends (Figure 3).
7. Revisions to relevant tables and explanatory examples.

River, Coastal, and Regional Drainage Mapping

In 2002, the Water Resources Bureau and the Water Conservancy Agency under the Ministry of Economic Affairs were integrated to establish the Water Resources Agency, Ministry of Economic Affairs. A River Survey Team was established within the Agency and was responsible for the delineation and official announcement of centrally administered river areas, drainage areas, and seawall areas; the formulation of river and drainage surveying techniques and plans; supervision of river surveying operations administered by county and city governments; and digitization of river, drainage, and seawall maps. These activities supported the WRA’s management of centrally administered river areas, regional drainage areas, and general seawall areas.

Taking river-area surveying as an example, the purpose of preparing maps for centrally administered river areas, regional drainage areas, and general seawall areas is mainly to provide a fundamental basis for land-use management within river areas, permits for cultivation on public river lands, river management planning, and land acquisition for engineering projects. Such delineation is a prerequisite for river management and improvement and is closely related to the rights and interests of the public. It must also be reviewed and revised in a timely manner in response to changes in the hydrologic and physiographic conditions of river channels so that the delineated areas reflect actual conditions.

In 2023, in coordination with government organizational restructuring, the WRA stipulated that the River Management Branches would be responsible for the management, surveying, delineation, adjustment, and modification of river areas, seawall areas, and regional drainage facility areas. The field survey team of the former River Survey Team was incorporated into the Water Resources Planning Branch, where the River and Coastal Field Survey Team was established under the River and Coastal Division. The team is responsible for preparing, archiving, and maintaining maps of river areas, seawall areas, and regional drainage facility areas. Through this division of responsibilities, more accurate and reliable spatial information can be provided to meet the WRA’s management needs for centrally administered rivers, regional drainage systems, and general seawalls.

Preliminary Study on a Localized NbS Process for River Management

The basic framework for integrating Nature-based Solutions (NbS) into river management preliminarily divides river-management NbS strategies into three scales: watershed, waterway, and river reach, corresponding respectively to the three stages of integrated watershed improvement, waterway management, and engineering planning. The overall framework is shown in Figure 4.

The flowchart shows that larger-scale issues require earlier initiation of interagency coordination and cooperation. In practical implementation, the waterway and river-reach scales still rely on interagency collaboration and must be coordinated with relevant existing or planned programs of other agencies to ensure the overall effectiveness of implementation.

Integrated Watershed Improvement

Focusing on the watershed scale, this stage encompasses various issues required for integrated land adaptation, waterfront connectivity, and river and stream system restoration. If the resulting NbS strategies extend beyond the jurisdiction of the Water Resources Agency, interagency coordination may be used to incorporate them into corresponding programs implemented by other agencies.

Waterway Management

Focusing on the waterway scale, if issues involve areas upstream and downstream of weirs and dams under the jurisdiction of the Water Resources Agency, they may be addressed through internal coordination mechanisms within the WRA. At this stage, NbS effectiveness assessment indicators should be developed for issues such as waterway management and habitat restoration.

Engineering Planning

Focusing on the river-reach scale, sufficient communication and coordination are required with stakeholders who may be affected by engineering projects. At this stage, the effectiveness assessment indicators developed in the previous stage should be adapted for application at this stage, and socioeconomic benefit assessment methods for NbS should be used to conduct cost-benefit analyses.

With reference to NbS criteria, a localized process is developed to ensure that watershed adaptation planning complies with NbS principles. The process consists of four stages: submission of watershed adaptation planning, integrated watershed improvement, waterway management, and engineering planning (Figure 5), with the aim of enhancing biodiversity from a comprehensive and strategic perspective.

Background and Policy Promotion

The Water Resources Agency (WRA) promulgated the “Format for River Management Planning and Documentation” in 2019. Since then, the policy has undergone a series of legislative developments including flood runoff allocation, watershed adaptation, and enhanced public participation and communication mechanisms.

In response to evolving needs and feedback from users and stakeholders, the format has been continuously reviewed and revised. The Regional Water Resources Office convened experts from river management branches and academia, holding 15 working and consultation meetings to revise the format. The revised version, titled “Format for River Management Planning and Documentation (2025 Revised Edition)”, was officially issued by WRA in September 2025.

Key Revisions

1. Multi-adaptive approach for controversial reaches
   • In sections where consensus on flood control strategies cannot be reached, short-term management can adopt a multi-method flood adaptation strategy.
2. Public participation guidelines
   • Includes key considerations and recommended forms for engaging public involvement during planning.
3. Review of cross-river structures
   • New procedures added for evaluating structures such as bridges and pipelines crossing river channels.
4. Zoning principles and reference illustrations (See Figure 1)
   • Provides schematic examples of how to delineate zoning boundaries, such as at main and tributary junctions.
5. Updated base maps for official mapping products (See Figure 2)
   • Official maps are now based on topographic overlays, with vertex coordinate numbers and tabular indexes added for clarity and consistency.
6. New aerial imagery guidelines (See Figure 3)
   • Aerial footage now must clearly display designated features and symbols, such as levees, erosion points, and important landmarks.
7. Revised forms and examples
   • Standard tables have been revised with additional sample templates for user reference.

Figure 1: Example zoning schematic at main-tributary junction

Figure 2: Updated official map using topographic overlay with vertex IDs

Figure 3: Aerial footage display specifications with labels and annotations

Integrated Coastal Protection Planning and Application of Climate Change Adaptation

Rolling Review of Coastal Protection Zoning

The first- and second-tier coastal protection plans were successively promulgated by the Ministry of the Interior in 2020 and 2021.

Following this, the Regional Water Resources Office aligned with the Ministry’s "First Comprehensive Review of the Integrated Coastal Management Plan", which is scheduled for formal promulgation in 2025. This plan officially incorporates the "Climate Change Adaptation Strategy" into the Coastal Protection Integration Planning Guidelines, alongside revised zoning principles for storm surge inundation potential.

In future updates or reviews of coastal protection plans, competent agencies will not only assess the current functions of protective structures but also be required to:

1. Evaluate Weak Points in Coastal Levees under Climate Change Scenarios
   • Systematic inspections should consider projected increases in wave conditions and sea level rise, which may compromise levee integrity.
   • A sample inspection form for overtopping volumes under climate change scenarios is shown in Table 1.

Table 1: Sample form for levee overtopping review under climate change scenarios

2. Delineate Buffer Zones Based on Storm Surge Scenarios
   • Areas identified as high-risk for storm surge inundation under future climate scenarios (see Figure 4) will be designated as land-side buffer zones in coastal protection plans.

Figure 4: Depth distribution of storm surge inundation under climate change (Yunlin example)

3. Establish Management Rules Within Protection Zones
   • Clear definition of prohibited and compatible land uses within protection zones to ensure effective land management and coastal safety.

Application of Oceanographic Increment Data under Climate Change

To ensure consistency in scientific data sources, it is recommended that coastal protection-related climate change data be primarily sourced from:

• TCCIP (Taiwan Climate Change Projection and Information Platform Project)
  • Offers downscaled climate data and value-added products.

However, due to significant spatial variation in tidal levels and the limited applicability of the platform’s data in engineering planning, the Regional Office collaborated with technical partners to obtain customized datasets, including:

• 50-year return period oceanographic increments at specific points
• Comprehensive review of coastal protection water levels across Taiwan (see Figure 5)
• Calculation of projected changes in storm surge deviation rates (see Figure 6)

These results will serve as references for the future reviews and updates of integrated coastal protection plans.

Figure 5: Projected protective water levels under present and future climate conditions

Figure 6: Regional map of 50-year return period storm surge deviation rates under climate change