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WUXI (JIANGSU) – which had been widely argued by the public media on its algae-infested Lake Tai, have organised a rare tour to reporters and business partners in order to retrieve confidence from investors.
Lake Tai, China's third-largest and the main water source of Wuxi city in eastern Jiangsu province, was hit with a massive algae bloom late last month that turned the water fetid and overwhelmed the treatment plants.
The incident swiftly became the city's worst-ever environmental crisis. Water supply for more than two million residents was cut off for days after yellowish water flowed from their taps. Tourists fled and businesses counted their losses.
Businessmen began questioning the wisdom of longer-term investments in Wuxi, given the local government's inability to clean up the polluted Lake Tai despite trying for years. Reports that a second algae bloom had been spotted in the central-western and northern parts of the lake added to their worries.
Officials tried to assuage these concerns during a one-day tour last Friday for 48 senior executives with businesses in Wuxi, and about two dozen visiting journalists from Beijing and Shanghai. Canton Fair
They were shown the main water intake and treatment plants, as well as the city's communicable disease centre where officials kept a lookout for potential public health problems, such as a mass outbreak of diarrhoea.
'I can tell you in a responsible manner that the tap water in Wuxi now is the best ever in history,' Wuxi's top official, party secretary Yang Weize, assured journalists.
He added that surveillance teams had been sent out to check on the second algae bloom spotted in Lake Tai and found that the situation was not as serious as media reports suggested.
At the Nanquan water intake plant where 80 per cent of Wuxi's water is drawn, engineers said a series of measures had been taken to prevent it from being overwhelmed by a second algae bloom.
Apart from land-based measuring instruments, several boats had been sent out to act as mobile surveillance units that would conduct regular checks on the water quality in the lake, said Mr Rong Wenlei, the chief engineer of Wuxi Water Company.
An 'eco-barrier' had also been built around the plant to hold the algae at bay should another bloom occur. Algae blooms typically occur in waters rich with nutrients from untreated sewage, as well as agricultural and industrial waste. Canton Fair
Mr Yang said Wuxi would accelerate its plan to close 772 small-scale chemical plants near Lake Tai. The city initially planned to close the plants in three years' time, but would now complete this exercise in two years, he added.
Asked how he personally coped during the height of the algae crisis, Mr Yang said: 'I can responsibly tell you that I used the tap water to shower every day, and did not stop doing so for even one day.
'Wuxi's water now meets the national standards, and the talk that our water will cause health or skin problems is just not true.'
Residents, however, remained sceptical of the government's assurances. All 10 residents who spoke to The Straits Times said they still did not dare use the tap water for drinking or cooking, citing concerns over the government's use of strong oxidising agents like potassium permanganate to get rid of the odour in the water.
Ms Zhou Shengdong, who heads the city's Water Quality Inspection Centre, said such worries were misplaced.
She added: 'The amount of chemical added was within the safety limits. The public is still worried because they have been listening to rumours and also because they do not understand the water treatment process.' |
