Study of Gate Operation Strategies for Qigu Salt Pan Wetland

Abstract

Qigu Salt Pan Wetlands are located in Qigu District of Tainan City They were originally used for the salt industry The total area is 1 976 hectares which is the largest salt pan in Taiwan After stopping the work in 2002 because of its geographical conditions it has provided a large area of water and has become an important habitat for waterfowl perching foraging breeding and wintering In 2007 it was designated as a National Important Wetland Because it was originally used for the salt industry the Qigu Salt Pan Wetlands have connecting waterways and sluice gates which were used to allow salty water from Qigu lagoon into the salt pans All areas in the wetland are connected by waterways One can drain or divert water through the opening of water gates and use of the tides rising and falling in the open sea However after the salt pan was abandoned the original water gate management operation plan was stopped Since then the wetland has had problems of insufficient water during the winter and excessive salinity due to prolonged exposure to sunlight In order to find an appropriate new water management plan this study attempts to explore the impact of different water gate operation strategies on the environmental quality of the Qigu Salt Pan wetlands This research used the Physiographic drainage-inundation Model local water gate operation and local water quality surveys to identify a recommended water gate operation strategy which can facilitate the management of the environmental quality of the Qigu Salt Pan wetland in the future In this study fourteen water gate diversion tests were carried out The factors to consider for different water diversion settings include: setting up water gates river dredging water gate dredging opening different water gates and level of drainage The diversion simulation results show that Situation 13 is the best option This strategy can create a wide range of water habitats and three different water depths while still allowing for flood control

Date of Award	2019
Original language	English
Supervisor	Hsiao-Wen Wang (Supervisor)