At the end of 1992, the town hall and various local organizations held their first hearings in Meinung on the construction of a reservoir. The next year, teachers and citizens involved in the cultural life of the town formed the Work Group Against the Reservoir. Over the last seven or eight years, the movement to preserve Meinung has gradually picked up steam.
民國八十一年底，鎮公所和地方社團在美濃召開第一次的興建美濃水庫公聽會；次年，美濃的老師、藝文工作者等組成反對興建水庫工作隊，七、八年來，美濃人的愛鄉護土運動越演越烈，水庫已被視為客家文化的終結者，美濃人誓死要終結水庫。