Ordering all local heating companies to store adequate water, the heating bureau of Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, has assured local residents of the normal operation of the city's water heating system despite a temporary water stoppage.

In an urgent notice issued by the bureau, the city's heating companies were asked to put into use their spare water wells to gain sufficient water for heating guarantee, and to get well prepared for any emergencies.

The bureau also advised the local residents not to take water from the heating system for private use.

The municipal government of Harbin ordered to cut off water supply in the urban area from the wee hours Wednesday, for the fear that a chemical plant blast on Nov. 13 in neighboring Jilin Province may have caused a leakage of poisonous substances into the Songhua River, which supplies water to the city.

Harbin has a total population of more than eight million, with three million people living in the city's urban districts.