Taipei City Geotechnical Engineering Office

As a result of increased recruitment, the members of Taipei City Soil and Water Conservation Service Team have increased from 33 to 41 people. In addition to free counseling for hillside land soil and water conservation and field guidance, geological counseling has also been added as a new service. We hope that citizens will make good use of the new service.

Director Huang Li-Yuan, of Geotechnical Engineering Office, Public Works Department noted that Taipei City, with its dense population living on the limited land surrounded by numerous hills, has 15,004 hectare of hillside land, accounting for over 55% the size of the city. These hills also signify geological complexity and unpredictability. With the increased frequency of geological disasters in recent years, citizens are more concerned about their living environment. Some even called the Office to inquire about the geological conditions of the real estate they may have an interest in purchasing. To enhance the service quality, the Geotechnical Engineering Office has recently introduced a new geological counseling service for the public. If you have any questions about your living environment, all you need to do is make a phone call to the Service Team, and the professional technicians will come to your neighborhood to conduct a survey and answer your questions for free. 

Shi Yi-Kuang, the technician and the leader of Taipei City Soil and Water Conservation Service Team, notes that the Service Team is comprised of enthusiastic and experienced professional technicians, highly recommended by the Professional Civil Engineers Association, Professional Geotechnical Engineers Association, Soil and Water Conservation Professional Engineer Association, and Association of Hydraulic Engineers. Given that the agency receives an average of more than 500 requests for services annually in recent years, among which quite a few cases involve dip slope problems, the Geotechnical Engineering Office responded by reorganizing the Team and broadening its recruitment to increase the members of the Service Team from 33 to 41 in September. It’s worth noting that this year, for the first time, two female technicians have joined the team previously consisting of only male members, which is indeed a change for the Service Team. 

Chief Liang Cheng-Zhao, of the Slope Land Construction Management Section of Geotechnical Engineering Office,noted that the Soil and Water Conservation Service Team offers guidance on hillside land soil and water conservation application procedures, and provides free counseling for the basic skill set, self-inspection, post-disaster rehabilitation, and on-stie instructions. Other than filling out the folded leaflet, making phone calls, or coming to the Geotechnical Engineering Office in person, the citizens may also make a reservation for the services of “Soil and Water Conservation Service Team” on the website of the Geotechnical Engineering Office by filling out the required basic information and submittion their applications online. The electronic system will automatically reply to the applicants to notify them about whether their reservations are successfully. In doing so, citizens can easily request the services in the comfort of their homes.

Liang added that, in addition to the online reservation service, the “Soil and Water Conservation Service Team” section on the website also offers the online satisfaction survey to enhance its service quality for the citizens. Regardless of your satisfaction or dissatisfaction, you are always welcome to give your opinions or recommendations to the Geotechnical Engineering Office. For instance, a farmer Mr. Li at the Shilin District requested the technicians of the Service Team to offer guidance on repairing the damage of the embankment on his farm. As a result, the farm has become sturdy and neat. Afterwards, he applied for slope land leveling, for which the technicians of the Service Team further helped him with planning, designing and drawing. The positive feedback from Mr. Li has encouraged the Geotechnical Engineering Office to place even more emphasis on the guidance of soil and water conservation to fit the citizens’ needs.

The application for the soil and water conservation counseling service from Taipei City’s Soil and Water Conservation Service Team can be completed by filling out the folded leaflet, by telephone (toll-free 02-27593001 / 02-27593001 ext. 3730), making the reservation online (Geotechnical Engineering Office: http://www.tcge.taipei.gov.tw/ > Soil and Water Conservation Service Team area), or visiting the Geotechnical Engineering Office (3F, No. 300, Songde Rd., Xinyi District) for counseling during the time when the technicians are stationed at the Office (9:00 – 12:00 on Tuesday). Citizens are invited to make good use of these services.