So when Li caught wind of the recent scandal surrounding bottled water, he was utterly confused. Nationwide discussion over water safety emerged after the Beijing Times reported that Nongfu Spring, one of the country's largest water producers, failed to meet national standards for its 19-liter jug sold in Beijing. The company says it applied local standards, and will sue the paper and soon shut down their plant in Beijing, the Global Times reported on May 7.
Metropolitan wades through your water options with expert opinions and purchasing tips.
Can I drink tap water?
Zhu Huo, a marketing officer in her 30s originally from Shanghai, insists on not drinking tap water, even if it's boiled. She doesn't use it for cooking, either.
"There are many types of sediment, white and yellow, at the bottom of the bowl, and you don't know what they are," Zhu said. "The smell is bad and the taste, too."
Some Beijingers question whether the tap water in Beijing is drinkable. But experts offer different takes on the issue.
"It shouldn't be much of a problem to drink cold water directly from tap, since chlorine is added to sterilize the water," said Dong Jingshi, expert in environmental chemistry and food safety.
But don't go pouring yourself a glass just yet. While it should be safe, the water comes into contact with so many elements in the pipes, tanks and taps it encounters along the way to your home that many harmful reactions may happen en route. Dong names carbon tetrachloride as one potentially harmful by-product. Therefore, Dong recommends boiling tap water before drinking.
To do so, he suggests letting the water boil for about three minutes. This will kill the bacteria and remove most hazardous organisms.
Dong believes boiled tap water is much better than bottled water, since the new, strict quality standards with 106 indicators for tap water have been in effect since 2007, as set by the Ministry of Health and Standardization Administration and supervised by the Beijing Municipal Health Bureau. "Not to mention that tap water is much more economical compared to bottled water," he said.
The last water panic and subsequent nationwide discussion on water safety happened earlier this year in January after Zhao Feihong, 58, a researcher on drinking water at the Beijing Healthcare Association, and her husband, also a water expert, admitted that they haven't had tap water in 20 years, the Global Times reported.
Zhao agrees with Dong that tap water is basically drinkable when it leaves the waterworks, but she also points out that the century-old water system of Beijing causes secondary pollution as the water is delivered to houses.
"Our processing techniques and equipment lag behind other countries," Dong said. "Our pipes are usually made of iron or even PVC, while they use stainless steel or PPR (polypropylene random) abroad."
Conclusion: The good news on the tap water front is that the Beijing Waterworks Group plans to invest 1.8 billion yuan ($294 million) into improving and revising water supply facilities this year. Still, it's far from enough, Zhao said, and probably will not get Beijingers any closer to being able to drink straight from the tap.
Can I drink from a purifier?
Dong uses ion-exchange resins on his tap to filter the tap water, and then boils it for drinking. Taobao.com, China's largest online retailer, has more than 1,000 kinds of purifying equipment with a wide range of prices from 50 yuan to more than 50,000 yuan. The bestseller is a processer that attaches to the tap, with a filter cartridge that will last about six months. It sells for 58 yuan.
Li doesn't trust water purifiers, but he is willing to give it a shot in the future since he thinks "water quality will only get worse because of environmental deterioration."
Conclusion: Purifiers can be effective, but often at a high price for still questionable results.
Conduct your own test
Water safety seems to vary wildly from bottle to bottle, tap to tap. To test your own water sources, try out a home-testing kit. Besides pH test strips, Taobao has kits available that can test for heavy metals, minerals, bacteria or remaining chlorine. Prices run the gamut from 9 yuan to 760 yuan.
"I hope the government will conduct stricter management and inspection to ensure water meet all quality standards," said Li. To them, he said, "Don't make the people here scared of drinking water."
Modern movie dream in retro Mingguo street
Feedback
RSS
