An upriver distillery that dumped large amounts of distillers'
grains into the Hailang River might have caused the unidentified
flocculation at a water supply source in Mudanjiang City, northeast
China's
Heilongjiang Province, a government spokesperson said
yesterday. The pollution sent local residents into a panic thinking
that water supplies would be affected.
According to the spokesperson, Wang Shuyin, experts have
concluded that the flocculation was an aquatic organism and would
not cause a chemical pollution of the river. Warmer weather in
recent days caused fermented grains from the distillery to
accelerate the growth of the aquatic organism.
On February 19, flocculation had accumulated near a water inlet
supplying Mudanjiang, the province's third largest city and
home to about 800,000 people. Fermented grains also caused the tap
water to smell.
Fearing a cut in water supplies, residents rushed to the
supermarkets to stock up on bottled water.
When the frozen river thawed, the flocculation drifted
downstream to the Mudan River whose water supply source is located
in the lower reaches of the Hailang River.
The city has taken measures to ensure safe drinking water for
its residents, and there will be no water cutoff, Wang said. Local
authorities have mobilized extra consignments of bottled water to
meet increased demand during this time.
The local water corporation has sterilized its running water
with chlorine and other substances, and the city's tap water has
been declared safe to drink, according to Zhang Lizhi, manager of
the corporation.
The distillery, in neighboring Hailin, reportedly responsible
for the incident, has been shut down, Wang added.
(Xinhua News Agency, China Daily February 22,
2006)