Environment officials in a south China city have assured
residents that their water is again safe to drink after supplies to
about 100,000 people were cut during an oil pollution scare on
Saturday.
Domestic water supplies to about half the population in the
urban area of Foshan city in west Guangdong Province were cut for
more than six hours from 8:45 a.m. on Saturday after a
two-kilometer long ivory-white slick was spotted in the Xijiang
River, forcing restaurants and businesses to close and sparking a
surge in bottled water sales.
Two pumps of the Gaoming Waterworks in Gaoming District were
closed down while technicians cleaned their filters at a pumping
station on the river, and officials began an emergency operation to
soak up the oil and clean the river.
The city's marine affairs department also sent oil skimming
boats to help clearing the pollutants.
Three other waterworks in charge of water supply to the urban
areas of Foshan city were required to operate at full capacity to
ensure the domestic water supply, while the city government has
informed the citizens with cell phone text messages on the oil
pollution.
The silt was cleared by 1:30 p.m. and water supply resumed at
around 3 p.m. on Saturday.
"Tests show the water was safe to drink, but we will keep on
monitoring the water quality of the river," said an official with
the city's publicity department who just gave his surname as
Li.
Environment officials have begun an investigation into the
source of the pollution and the type of oil, which they said
emitted a "strange unpleasant odour", but no pollutants were found
in the upper reaches of the river.
The 2,075-meter-long Xijiang River, a major tributary of the
Pearl River, runs through the western part of Guangdong. It is a
major water resource for the cities of Foshan, Sanshui, Shunde,
Zhongshan and Zhuhai.
(Xinhua News Agency February 18, 2008)
