2011-04-25 12:26

HARBIN -- About 9,000 people in a northeastern China county have to line up in front of temporary water supply stations to get drinking water after their tap water was found polluted, authorities said Sunday.

Many local residents in Yilan county, Heilongjiang province, have been reportedly infected with intestinal illnesses since Friday.

Local government confirmed that the infection was caused by polluted drinking water after excessive amounts of e-coli bacteria was found in the drinking water.

People in 2,675 households in seven residential areas have been affected by the impure water, as of Sunday afternoon.

Zhang Wen, an official with the county, said some underground water supply pipes are aged and had fissures, so the underground water was polluted by waste water from the soakaway pits.

Six temporary water supply stations had been set up so far. The local government is working to repair and disinfect the problematic water supply systems.