Tap water back on in Wuhan

Tap water was flowing again for residents in the central city of Wuhan Thursday afternoon after a pollution scare that closed three water plants.

The Baihezui and Yushidun plants suspended operations around 4pm and 7pm on Wednesday after tests showed the Wuhan section of the Han River, a major tributary of the Yangtze, contained excessive ammonia and nitrogen.

The Guomian water plant closed at 7am on Thursday.

However, by 4:30pm yesterday, supplies from all three had resumed after tests showed the river water had returned to normal.

The closures caused shortages for around 300,000 residents and hundreds of food plants.

The local government said none of the polluted water had reached the city's pipeline network.

The river water was being tested hourly, while environmental protection bureaus at provincial and city levels were investigating the source of the pollution.

On April 11, excessive levels of benzene were found in tap water in downtown Lanzhou, capital of northwest China's Gansu Province. Tests showed a concentration of 200 micrograms per liter, far in excess of the 10 micrograms limit.

The city turned off supplies and warned residents not to use tap water over the next 24 hours.

An investigation found that a leak of crude oil from a Lanzhou Petrochemical Co pipeline was to blame for the pollution.

In an unrelated case, wastewater leaking from a copper mine contaminated a river and nearby grassland in Gansu's neighboring Qinghai Province, Xinhua news agency said yesterday.

So far no people or livestock had been affected after 3,000 cubic meters of water leaked from the tailing pond of the Suolagou mine early on Wednesday morning in Xinghai County, a government spokesman said.

Environmental Inspectors found that a 3-kilometer stretch of the river and bordering grassland had been contaminated.

The river is the drinking water source for seven villages, with a total population of more than 1,600 people. The polluted water was being diluted, and steps taken to ensure livestock are not poisoned.