Collapse of waste-water treatment pool for zinc and lead mine poses threat to major drinking water source near Shanghai
A leak from a zinc and lead mine is threatening to contaminate Qiandao Lake, a famous resort near Shanghai and a major source of drinking water.
The accident happened at noon on Thursday when pipes under a waste-water treatment pool, owned by the Hangzhou Qiandao Lake Mine Products Company, cracked after becoming blocked due to heavy rain.
Part of the pool collapsed, causing 6,000 cubic metres of mine tailings to flow into a nearby creek that leads into the lake, China News Service reports.
The leak had not only affected local residents' supply of drinking water, but also posed a serious threat to the lake, it said. Xinhua said the pollutants had not yet reached the lake.
Officials of Chunan county, where the lake is located, said the local environmental protection department would conduct water quality tests.
Police officers and soldiers used hand-operated pumps to siphon the upstream water, directing it to another river that does not flow into the lake, China News Service reported. They also started to build a temporary drainage system to channel torrential rain and four stations around the lake were set up to monitor water quality.
Qiandao Lake, 150 kilometres from Hangzhou and 330 kilometres from Shanghai, is a popular recreation spot in the Yangtze River delta because of its clean water and the 1,078 islands dotted over its 580 sq km.
