Beijing has become the first city in China to meet the required
safety standards of potable water.
The Beijing municipal water authority said water in the capital
had passed all 106 tests for contaminants as required by new
national standards that took effect on Sunday.
"Beijing met the standards at the end of last year," Yu Yaping,
official with the water authority told China Daily
yesterday. "As industry insiders, we received the standards a long
time ago. We immediately took action to improve the capital's
drinking water quality," Yu said.
Fan Kangping, director of the water quality center of Beijing
Waterworks Group, said the city's water had been potable since
2003.
"The Ministry of Construction, as one of our administrative
authorities, issued water quality regulations consisting of 101
standards many years ago," Fan said.
However, complaints have been received from people about the
metallic taste of the water and its unpleasant smell in the south
part of the city.
"That is the result of secondary pollution," Yu said.
"Old tap water pipes are responsible for the bad taste."
It is estimated 7,000 km of underground pipes transport water to
16 million residents.
Some pipes were laid 50 to 60 years ago, according to a source
close to the water authority.
"We have a dilemma. The water piped out is clean and safe but
gets contaminated before it reaches users," Fan said.
The Beijing Waterworks Group supplies about 600 to 700 million
cubic meters of drinking water every year.
(China Daily July 3, 2007)
