Officials at the Public Works Bureau of the Kaohsiung city government said Wednesday that they will ask the Kaohsiung Irrigation Association to begin filling the 42-hectare lake soon and that it will take about two weeks for the water to get at least three meters deep, in line with the international standards for water skiing, wake-boarding, canoe polo, and an invitational dragon boat race.
The officials also said that to keep the water in Lotus Pond clean, they will enforce inspections to prevent the discharge of sewage water from adjacent neighborhoods into the lake.
The dredging project, which began in December last year, was completed at a cost of NT$155 million (US$4.83 million). Workers first had to empty the lake and move all fish, turtles, shellfish and other water creatures to aquaculture facilities.
The bottom of the lake was then dredged, excavated and leveled to allow for a depth of least three meters deep for the water sports.
