A reservoir will begin to supply water by the end of this year
to the northeastern city of Harbin, which had to suspend water
supplies to millions of residents when the Songhua River was
polluted last November, officials said Saturday.
It's estimated that the Mopanshan reservoir will supply 450,000
cubic meters of water daily to Harbin, capital of
Heilongjiang Province, when the pipeline network is
complete.
The reservoir, located in Wuchang city, is 200km away from
Harbin in Heilongjiang Province. With a total investment of more
than 5 billion yuan (about US$630 million), it began construction
in April 2003 and was put into operation September 2005.
The Songhua River, which is currently Harbin's sole water
supply, was polluted last November when approximately 100 tons of
pollutants containing hazardous benzene spilled into it after a
chemical plant explosion in
Jilin Province.
The incident forced cities along the river, including Harbin, a
city of more than three million people, to temporarily suspend
water supplies to its residents.
China has approved a plan to invest 10 billion yuan (US$1.25
billion) in the next five years to curb pollution of the Songhua
River.
The plan is aimed to prevent and control pollution in the
drainage area of the river. While approving the plan, the executive
meeting of the
State Council, or the central government, chaired by Premier Wen
Jiabao also ordered the launch of a batch of projects to tackle
industrial sources of pollution and treat urban sewage.
(Xinhua News Agency April 4, 2006)