After Taiwan's economic development shifted to industry and commerce and cities were constructed rapidly, problems of water resource management became more complex, demand for water increased, underground water sources were excessively tapped, hillside development was allowed where soil conservation should have been exercised, and industrial pollution increased steadily. The government's attention to the subject of water resources never kept pace with the rate at which these problems developed.
然而隨著經濟建設重心逐漸轉移到工商業，城市快速建設，水利問題逐漸複雜化：水需求增加、地下水超抽、山坡地濫墾濫建、工業汙染日益嚴重，但政府對水資源議題的重視卻一直沒有跟上問題發生的腳步。