E China chemical spill forces water cut-off

Residents in Fuyang, Zhejiang province rush to buy drinking water at a supermarket following a chemical spill in the Fuchun River, May 18, 2014. Water utility companies along the Fuchun River have stopped drawing water from the river and the water supply in the city has been cut off since noon on Sunday. [Photo/icpress.cn]

HANGZHOU - Fuyang city of East China's Zhejiang province suspended the supply of tap water at noon on Sunday after the Fuchun River, Fuyang's water source, was contaminated by a chemical spill.

The spill happened at around 3 am on Sunday when a tanker truck carrying tetrachloroethane overturned on a road in Tonglu County and some of its chemicals flowed into the Fuyang section of the Fuchun River.

Fuyang's government said it received the accident report at 7 am, and asked water utility companies in the city to stop drawing water from the river, also banning fishing on the section affected. Citizens have been without tap water since the suspension order.

Both Fuyang and Tonglu are under the jurisdiction of the provincial capital of Hangzhou. Fuchun River is the upper reach of the Qiantang River, the main water supplier of Hangzhou. Water supply in Hangzhou has not yet been affected.

The governments of Hangzhou, Fuyang and Tonglu have been taking measures to treat the pollution and monitoring the water quality along the river.

Hu Wei, director of the environmental protection bureau of Hangzhou, said the contamination is within control and it is unlikely to pose any danger to the drinking water of Hangzhou.

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