In Sun Moon Lake, at the south of Taiwan, there lives 9 giant frogs. These frogs aren’t real, though. Instead, they serve as an indicator for Sun Moon Lake’s water levels. Over the year, as water levels decreased, the frogs have slowly been revealed, causing widespread panic among the citizens of Taiwan.

 
Taiwan is known for being a humid, sticky, tropical country with year-round typhoons. But while the island is ranked second highest in annual rainfall out of all countries, this year, it has definitely fallen short. Taiwan is currently undergoing its worst drought since 1947.
The Taiwanese government are taking this drought as a call to action about the multitude of problems facing the water industry. The cost of water in Taiwan is one-fifth of the price of water in Europe, which has lead to island-wide wasting. Many of the water pipes in Taiwan are decades old, dating back to Japanese occupation, leading to hundreds of millions of tonnes of water leakage each year. Silt and soil buildup in water reservoirs have also limited water storage whenever it rains.
To encourage water conservation, the Water Resources Agency is launching a reward program that provides water bill credits to people who install water-saving faucets or toilets. A new water policy also initiated that households that use more than 30,000 liters of water a month will have to pay much higher water prices–almost twice the regular price. In several northern cities, like New Taipei City and Taoyuan, water supplies will be rotated and cut off for two days a week.
 
While we wait for the rain and hope the water industry improves, here are five ways you can conserve water at home right now:

1. Turn off the tap while you brush your teeth.
2. Check your faucets and showerheads for leakage. A drip every second equates to five gallons of water wasted per day.
3. Turn off the shower while soaping up. According to Eartheasy, a four minute shower uses up around 20 to 40 gallons of water. Also, take shorter showers.
4. Don’t flush your toilet just as a way of disposing your tissues or bathroom waste. Throw your trash in the garbage can.
5. Only run your dishwasher when it’s completely full.