Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics!: By the River of Keelung

Just 20 years ago, Keelung River stunk to high heaven. It should, because the city was pumping raw sewage and industrial waste into it by the truckload. The water (if you can call it that) was jet black, and no marine life could survive in it. It was widely reported that a cockroach, perhaps the toughest land-based lifeform the planet has ever seen, died from cholera after taking a drink from the river. Its dying words were: "Dang! I am hardy enough to survive nuclear blasts, but not this."

Today, there are numerous parks along the levee, connected by bike paths. And the water ALMOST don't smell no more. So, it's now fashionable to live near the river. Oddly, though, the smelly portion is located right next to a very swank neighborhood. Maybe the one percenters' sense of smell have been dulled by constant exposure to the scent of freshly printed money.

Don't get me wrong, the Keelung River isn't a triumph of environmentalism. I still wouldn't touch the water with a ten foot pole, and the fish (yes, there are now fish) from these waters would probably glow in the dark. Still, it is an example of what's right with The System. Call me an optimist, but given time, the people (if they are an enlightened lot) and the government (if it is accountable to the people) will do the right thing, when all other options have been exhausted.

So, this is Keelung River. Once winding like snake, is now straight as an arrow. This project greatly reduced flooding in the city, but the poor folks living upstream (namely Sichih) got the shaft. It is only after the Yuansanjih Conduit was completed that flooding became a thing of the past.