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Tailings reservoir pipe burst causes water cut to Shenyang

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-07-16 17:05

SHENYANG -- Tap water to a city in northeast China's Liaoning Province was halted after a sluice pipe of a goldore tailings reservoir burst, polluting its water source.

The sluice pipe of the tailings reservoir, which handled the waste left over after certain mining processes, broke at around 8 am on Tuesday. Water containing poisonous cyanogen flew into the Tiejia reservoir, the water source of Donggang City with an urban population of about 150,000. The two reservoirs are just 6.1 kilometers apart.

The breach has been sealed up, according to the Dandong City government. Tests showed the Tiejia reservoir's water met the drinking water standards, but authorities still decided to halt using water from the reservoir to ensure its drinking safety.

The tap water company of Dandong, which includes Donggang, organized workers to work on a new emergency pipe to Donggang.

Water supply is expected to resume late on Wednesday.

The tailings reservoir belongs to the Wulong mining company. The cause of the breach remains unclear.