Tap water to Donggang City in northeast China's Liaoning Province resumed on Wednesday after a one-day disruption over contamination concerns, a source with the government said on Thursday.

The water supply was halted on Tuesday morning after a sluice pipe of a gold ore tailings reservoir burst, polluting the Tiejia Reservoir, the main water source of the 150,000-population city.

The pipe rupture happened in Dandong City, which was 6.1 km away.

The tailings reservoir handles the waste left over after certain mining processes. The pipeline breach discharged waste water containing poisonous cyanogen into the Tiejia reservoir in Donggang.

The breach was immediately sealed on Tuesday, when tests showed the Tiejia reservoir's water met the drinking water standards, but authorities still decided to halt using water from the reservoir to ensure the drinking safety.

The water supply resumed at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, after a group of experts sent by the provincial government reached the conclusion on the safety of the drinking water source.

The government's preliminary investigation has ruled out sabotage in the gold ore reserve, which is operated by the Wulong Mining Co. Ltd. affiliated to China National Gold Corp.

The pipeline breach incident is under investigation.  

(Xinhua News Agency July 18, 2008)