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Chinese town resumes water supply

HARBIN: Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, provisionally resumed tap water supply on Wednesday, after confirming the exact time of arrival of chemical pollutants from its water source of Songhua River. The supply was cut off to over 3 million people early Wednesday following fears of contamination. The provincial government announced that the river would carry poisonous substances caused by the blast of a chemical plant located in the upper reaches in the Jilin Province to Harbin on Thursday. Currently, normal daily supply is being ensured. ``As the exact time of the pollutants flowing to the city's drinking water intake spot has been confirmed, we hoped that citizens could take time to hoard as much water as possible ahead of the water cut-off,'' said an official. He said that the company would wait for the Government's order for the final cut-off of water supply. The provincial government said the poisonous organic substances, mainly benzene and nitrobenzene of high density flowing down the river, were 28.56 times of the national standards. The pollutant strip will flow out by Saturday morning. The municipal government has formerly announced that water supply would be cut off for four days. — Xinhua

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