The Taipei Water Source Era
During the governorship of Liu Ming-chuan, the first appointed governor of Taiwan during the Qing Dynasty, new infrastructure projects were introduced, including postal services and railways. In 1887, Governor Liu commissioned Japanese engineer Nanasato Kyosaburo to oversee the construction of three public wells in Taipei, located along Shifang Street, Ximen Street (now Hengyang Road) and Beimen Street (now Bo’ai Road) to address the city’s water needs.
At the time, Taiwan faced significant public health challenges due to poor sanitation and rampant infectious diseases. In June 1896, Goto Shinpei, a public health advisor from Japan, was appointed to guide Taiwan’s health reforms, recommending that the Government-General of Taiwan enlist William K. Burton, a British sanitation engineer advising Japan’s Ministry of Home Affairs, to lead sanitation projects and water supply investigations. Burton arrived with his student, Yashiro Hamano, marking the beginning of Taipei’s organized approach to water resource management.
In 1907, following Mr. Burton’s original recommendations, an intake point was constructed along the Xindian River at the foot of Guanyinshan in Gongguan to collect raw water. A water treatment plant was established on the foothills to purify the water, which was then pumped up to a distribution reservoir on the mountain. From there, the clean water flowed down by gravity to supply local households with daily water needs.
By 1908, the intake point, pump house and equipment installations were completed, and by 1909, the water distribution pipelines, treatment plant, and reservoir were fully operational. This system, named the Taipei Water Source Slow Sand Filter Plant, marked the beginning of Taipei’s modernized water supply, producing 20,000 metric tons of water daily for 120,000 residents.
In early 1951, the Taipei City Government established the “Taipei Water Supply Source Expansion Project Promotion Committee,” led by Mayor Wu San-lien. In April that year, an expansion office was set up, with Fan Chun-yi from the Provincial Construction Department heading design and construction works. The facilities included a mixing basin, two sedimentation tanks, and four rapid filter tanks, providing a daily output of 20,000 metric tons. The project was successfully completed in February of the following year. In 1974, as part of Taipei’s Phase III Water Supply Expansion Project, adjustments were made to accommodate the planned dismantling of the Taipei Water Source Slow Sand Filter Plant. Inclined pipes were added to the sedimentation tanks to enhance coagulation and sedimentation, while garnet filter media was introduced to the rapid filter tanks, boosting daily output to 50,000 metric tons.
Birth of the Museum of Drinking Water
In 1977, the pump house concluded its mission of drawing raw water and delivering treated water, retiring after a century of dedicated service since its construction in 1908. With over a hundred years of history, it was designated a Level 3 national monument by the Ministry of the Interior in June 1993. Later that year, on September 27, it opened to the public for the first time for a two-week viewing. Following an inspection by the Taipei City Government’s Department of Civil Affairs, the facility was found to have deteriorated significantly with multiple leaks, warranting urgent repairs. Consequently, a budget of NT$2 million was allocated in 1997 to conduct a thorough investigation and research report on the pump room, entrusted to the China Junior College of Industrial and Commercial Management, which completed the “Investigation and Research Report on the Taipei City Level-3 Historic Site Pump House.”
In May 1998, based on the report’s findings, the Taipei Water Department invested over NT$80 million to restore the pump room to its original appearance. This restoration involved collecting historical photos and equipment related to the city’s water supply, enriching the museum’s exhibits and surrounding facilities. Thus, the Museum of Drinking Water, Taiwan's first dedicated waterworks museum, was born, preserving and celebrating the legacy of Taipei’s water supply history.
This information is derived from the "Investigation and Research on the Taipei Level-3 Historic Site Pump House" (November 1997), with research conducted by the Department of Architecture at the China Junior College of Industrial and Commercial Management, commissioned by the Department of Civil Affairs, Taipei City Government, and published by the Taipei Water Department, with contributions by Huang-chih Chen.