Northeast Chinese city of Harbin resumed water supply at 6:00 p.m. Sunday since cutoff Wednesday (Nov 23rd) over pollution fears, as Governor of Heilongjiang Province Zhang Zuoji took the first drink after resumption.

Governor of Heilongjiang Province Zhang Zuoji takes the first drink after the water supply was resumed at 6:00 p.m. Sunday. (Xinhua photo)

FIRST DRINK SHOWS WATER QUALITY RECOVERS The governor had his drink in the house of the 75-year-old citizen Pang Yucheng, who is living in the Daoli District of Harbin. "I took the first drink to fulfill the government's solemn promise made a few days ago to the citizens that water supply will be restored," Zhang said. "It was also meant to reassure the public and dispel their worries," he added.

The water quality at Sifangtai, the water source site in the upper reach of Harbin section of the Songhua River, has met the national standards from 8:00 p.m. on Saturday and the main pollution slick in the Songhua River has left the section of Harbin Sunday morning, according to local environmental authorities. The latest inspection result shows that by 2:00 p.m. on Sunday no benzene was found in the water at Sifangtai, while the nitrobenzene level has met the national standard with a concentration of 0.0034 milligrams/liter, said Lin Qiang, spokesman for the Heilongjiang Provincial Environmental Protection Bureau. "The water is safe and reliable," said Wan Likui, director of the Public Health Inspection Institute with the Heilongjiang Provincial Disease Prevention and Control Center. "All the indicators show the water quality has met the national standards," she told Xinhua.

Workers at Harbin water supply plant get ready at a pumping station on Sunday, Nov. 27.(Xinhua photo)

"We feel much relieved when we saw the governor took the first drink and we have nothing to worry about any more," said Ma Zhixin, wife of Pang Yucheng.

At the early period after resumption, Harbin will supply water intermittently, according to the city government.

During the peak hours in the morning and evening, the city will ensure a sufficient supply of water, but for other period of time, water supply will be controlled, it said.

Before the city recovers its full capacity of supplying water normally, the city will place some key sectors as priorities, including household use, enterprises, heating service departments, governmental departments, colleges and universities, hospitals, hotels, restaurants, primary and middle schools, and kindergartens.

While car washing and bathing service agencies are not allowed to use water for the time being, the government said.

In addition, the city will launch a three-level warning forecast system of water quality after resumption to ensure public health, the city government said.

In the warning system, "red" means the water is not suitable for drinking nor using, "yellow" means the water is suitable for using but not for drinking, while "green" means that the water meets drinking standards.

The city will publish the water quality over local media to tell its citizens when they can use or drink water, the government said.

Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang Province and city of 3.8 million people, has been forced to shut down its water supply system from the wee hours of Wednesday because of a highly polluted water stretch in the Songhua River, which supplies most of the water to the populous city.

Toxic benzene and nitrobenzene flew into the Songhua River, following a blast with China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) Jilin Petrochemical company, a petrochemical plant in Jilin Province, a close neighbor of Heilongjiang Province, on Nov. 13.

Benzene is a clear, colorless, highly refractive flammable liquid that is derived from petroleum and used in or to manufacture a wide variety of chemical products, including detergents, insecticides and motor fuels.

Editor: Wing