Taipei City Geotechnical Engineering Office

Jiuzhuang Village of Nangang District is the easternmost village in Taipei City. It is mainly situated on a slope and almost the entire village is within the Dakeng River’s basin. In the past, typhoons and extremely heavy rains caused river erosion and brought down rocks and mud, posing a serious threat to the safety of residents downstream. To resolve the problem of mudflow, the Public Works Department of Taipei City Government carried out the river restoration project. The planning and design were completed last year (2012), and with the help of Jiuzhuang Village Chief Zhang Rui-Fang, who sought consent from every landowner, the project was carried out smoothly and is now completed.

Dakeng River is situated at the junction of Taipei City’s Nangang District and New Taipei City’s Xizhi District, with a catchment area of more than 200 hectares. To the left of the riverbank is Nangang, while Xizhi is to the right. In recent years, due to raging typhoons extremely heavy rains, such as the torrential rain on June 12, 2012, and Typhoon Saola, river erosion often resulted in disasters. After the restoration of Dakeng River, the river’s water quality has significantly improved and the ecological restoration is also remarkable.
Director of the Geotechnical Engineering Office, Lin Yu-i, said that the smooth restoration of Dakeng River is due to the effort of Jiuzhuang Village Chief Zhang Rui-Fang, of who visited every household personally to explain the project to them and seek their consent. As the work completion date coincides with that of the annual Ghost Festival, the residents held a celebration for the special occasion and thanked all the landowners for their cooperation and selflessness.

Chief Zhang Rui-Fang of Jiuzhuang Village said that Nangang’s mountainous area frequently encounters rains. In the past, due to typhoons and extremely heavy rain, Dakeng River’s riverbanks were eroded, causing disasters downstream and endangering the residents. Taipei City Government has now completed the restoration. Thanks to the city government’s dedication and the landowners’ cooperation, the restored riverbanks  the tests of this year’s extremely heavy rains; the residents can now live in peace.  This is the result of collaborative work between the citizens and government.