Although not world renowned for its water quality, most Chinese taps do not spew out leeches, dead eels and baby frogs when turned on. But in Liangtian village in Guangdong, the local supplier abandoned purification and disinfection a long time ago, leading to some of the most severe water pollution in the country.
When tested, a water sample from the village showed the total bacteria count was 2,200 colony forming unit per litre (CFU/L), 22 times higher than maximum level of 100 CFU/L allowed in China’s tap water. CFU is an estimate of visible bacteria and fungal numbers, but the water also contains higher density of coliform bacteria and higher levels of iron, a report in Nanfang Agriculture Daily said.
Many of the village’s 2,000 residents have reportedly given up showering in the water, after continued appeals to the local government to improve the water’s quality have fallen on deaf ears. Following a 700,000 yuan ($113,000) ‘improvement’ project in 2013, the authorities have brushed off responsibility, saying they only supervised construction and have no business in the water quality.
The head from the Water Department in Huangtian Town, which manages Liangtian village, said that of the 17 villages in the area, only six have safe drinking water.
280 million people in China are drinking unsafe water, according to a report from the Ministry of Environmental Protection released earlier in March. It also found that 110 million people are living less than 1 km (0.6 miles) away from at least one industrial site with pollution concerns.
[Image via Nanfang Agriculture Daily // Via The Nanfang]
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