China forced to step up diversion of Yangtze River to tackle Wuxi water crisis

China has stepped up the diversion of the Yangtze River to dilute water polluted by blue-green algae in a lake that provides drinking water for millions of people in the eastern Chinese city of Wuxi.

Water from the nation's longest river is flowing into Taihu lake at a rate of 150 cubic meters per second, up from the earlier 127 cubic meters per second, and the lake has received a total of 190 million cubic meters of Yangtze water since May 11, according to the water ministry's Taihu Valley Administration.

The Wuxi Tap Water Supply Company is also pumping a large amount of active carbon and potassium permanganate into the lake in an attempt to purify the water.

"But the method can not solve the problem as the water quality is so bad," said Zhou Shengdong, director of the company's quality monitor center.

Citizens are complaining that the tap water is so putrid that they can not wash with it.

"The tap water stinks and has a yellowish color, the whole family has not taken a shower for two days," said Shi Xiuying, a resident in Nanchang District.

The water level in three old wells in Shi's neighborhood is dropping quickly as residents rush to stock up.

A large algae-chocked area is currently visible near Nanquan, a major water plant for Wuxi Tap Water Supply Company, where some workers are trying to remove the algae.

"The water quality is far beyond the limits of drinking water treatment. It should be treated in sewage plants," said Zhou Liusong, a worker at the Nanquan Water Plant.

The water supply from Xiaowanli Tap Water Company in Wuxi, an economically dynamic city 128 km from Shanghai with a population of more than 5 million, has not resumed after supply was halted on May 22 when the Taihu lake started to stink with a blue-green algae bloom.

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