A distillery emitting a great deal of distillers' grains into
Hailanghe River might have caused the unidentified flocs at a water
supply source in Mudanjiang, northeast China, a government
spokesman said Tuesday.
Experts concluded that the flocs, detected at 2:00 PM on
February 19, are aquatic organism and would not cause chemical
pollution, said the spokesman Wang Shuyin.
The distillers' grains fermented and accelerated the growing
ofthe aquatic organism as it has been warm in the past few
days.
When the river thawed, the aquatic organism drifted to the
Mudanjiang River whose water supply source is located in the lower
reaches of the Hailanghe River, a tributary of the Mudanjiang
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 mineral water and bottled water for
possible market demand.
The local water supply corporation has sterilized its running
water with chlorine. By press time, tap water in the city is safe
for drinking, said Zhang Lizhi, manager of the corporation.
The distillery in neighboring Hailin city has been punished,
according to Wang.
(Xinhua News Agency February 22, 2006)