Beijing couple's tap water protest goes down the plughole

A Beijing couple who said last week that they had not drunk tap water for two decades because of health and safety concerns told state media yesterday that the quality of the capital's drinking water was good and up to international standards.

Zhao Tianhong , a veterinarian by training who is now a water expert with the Beijing Health Care Association, told China News Service that her rejection of tap water was a personal choice and she had not encouraged all residents to buy expensive bottled water.

In an interview with Southern Weekly last week, Zhao, 58, said that she and her husband had been drinking expensive bottled waters, such as Evian, since 1993 because they had lost confidence in the quality of Beijing's tap water.

She said her own tests last year had found that nitrate levels exceeded nine micrograms per litre, almost breaching the national standard.

"We probably know more about drinking water than any other family in Beijing," she told the newspaper. The report made headlines on nearly all major internet portals on the mainland and prompted widespread concern about the safety of tap water in big cities, with Beijing's municipal government coming under particularly heavy fire.

Li Fuxing , Zhao's 73-year-old husband, told China News Service yesterday that Beijing's tap water was not a problem. "It is the best in China in terms of quality and safety," he said in a video. "It is even as good as international standards."