This has led to land subsidence along both the eastern and western coasts. On a map of river water quality produced by the EPA, 50 of Taiwan's major and minor rivers are colored black or brown from their mouths to their middle and upper reaches, indicating that they are heavily or moderately polluted.
在環保署繪製的河川水質標示圖上，台灣由北而南五十條主、次要河川，沿著河口一路延伸到中、上游，都被標上黑色、褐色，告示著已遭重度、中度汙染。