Yangtze water returns to city reservoirs after precautionary shutdown

By Yang Jian | May 12, 2014, Monday |

Online Edition

SHANGHAI'S major reservoirs resumed taking water from the Yangtze River today after authorities determined that contamination on the upper river had been cleared and the water quality was safe.

The Qingcaosha and the Chenhang reservoirs at the mouth of the Yangtze began taking in water this afternoon once tests showed the water was normal, the Shanghai Water Authority said today.

The city's intakes in the two reservoirs, which supply tap water to over 70 percent of Shanghai's population, shut down over the weekend after an odor was detected in a Yangtze water source upstream at Jingjiang in eastern China's Jiangsu Province.

Shanghai's tap water was clear even while supplies were suspended in Jingjiang, but the reservoirs stopped taking in water for safety concerns," said an official with the water authority.

With a total capacity of 438 million cubic meters, Qingcaosha is capable of meeting the city's water demand for 68 straight days without taking in any more water from the Yangtze.

Jingjiang also resumed tap water supplies at 10:50am yesterday as water samples from the source met all national drinking water standards, said the Jingjiang municipal government.

According to officials at the Ministry of Water Resources, no signs of contamination were found in either Taihu Lake or the Huangpu River.

The water at Qingcaosha is secured through a monitoring system that prevents any pollution from getting inside the reservoir, according to Shanghai Chengtou Group, which operates the reservoir.

"Qingcaosha is a cleaner water resource and the water quality is more stable than that of the others," said Gu Jinshan, director of the Shanghai Water Authority.

Gu also said the wastes discharged by factories along the Yangtze do not affect the water quality since the reservoir gets its water from deep inside the river.

"Pollutants from factories usually settle along the banks of the river, while the water in the middle stretches of the river is of good quality as the Yangtze is capable of cleaning itself up," Gu said.

About 70 percent of the city's population now gets its tap water from the Yangtze River, which is purified at the reservoir.

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Yangtze water returns to city reservoirs after precautionary shutdown

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