Students in Harbin are back in school

HARBIN: Hundreds of thousands of students returned to class Wednesday after water was declared to be safe to drink following a chemical spill that forced a water supply shutdown about a week ago.

This northern city issued a statement yesterday, saying all the tap water was safe to drink and water supply was resumed.

"We have thoroughly checked and disinfected our drinking water machines in every classroom to ensure the safety of the water for students," said Zhu Xiaohong, a teacher at the No 6 Middle School.

The city was forced to cut its water supply for four days. This was due to fears that its main water source, the Songhua River, was contaminated from cancer-causing benzene that leaked from a chemical plant blast on November 13 in Jilin Province.

The city's 400,000 primary and middle school students are being advised to bring their meals from home, as most parents remain sceptical about water safety, she said.

The school's canteen remained closed and is waiting to get the green light to open from the local health bureau.

Also yesterday, the city's water-guzzling businesses, such as bath houses, car-washing facilities and beauty salons, came to life after the local government lifted its suspension of their operation.

"Though many people are still concerned about the water quality, the number of customers is steadily growing," said Yan Lili, manager of the Haidu Bath Centre in the Development Zone of Harbin.

In another development, sources with the city's water supply company vowed that the city will finally find a second water source, as the Mopanshan Reservoir is expected to supply water to Harbin next year.

As the contaminated slick in Songhua River flowed further away from the city, the need to find a second water source has become a priority.

Mopanshan, which is nearly 200 kilometres from urban Harbin, was chosen in 2000 as an ideal water source to divert water to Harbin, home to an urban population of 3.8 million.

The project includes a reservoir, a water transportation pipe, a water processing plant and a pipeline system, according to Liu Yurun, director of the Harbin Water Supply and Discharge Company.

A 176 kilometre-long pipeline with the capacity to supply 450,000 tons of water per day is nearly complete, according to Liu. "Six districts of Harbin will be able to drink the water from Mopanshan next year, " Liu said.

Zhai Pingyang, vice-director of the Heilongjiang Provincial Environment Research Institute, blamed the chemical plant as the chief pollution source of Songhua River.

"It is very dangerous for a city to rely on a single water source," he said during a telephone interview.

The contaminated slick was still in Tonghe, a suburb county of Harbin, as of yesterday.

Source: China Daily