Mayor's legacy: bad water pipes

Source: Xinhua  |   2008-12-20  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

A CITY government in Shaanxi Province issued its second apology in a month on Thursday over burst water pipes that caused hardship for more than 400,000 people.

Zhang Zongzhi, director of the urban construction administration of Baoji City, said the city government "sincerely apologizes for the latest pipe bursts" and promised to take action soon. Water mains from a local reservoir broke 11 times over the past decade, three times this month alone, cutting off water to about 70 percent of the city's residents.

Pang Jiayu, mayor and Communist Party chief of Baoji from 1997 to 1999, was accused of allowing substandard pipes to be used. Pang was sentenced in June to 12 years in prison for corruption.

Baoji's water supply resumed on Wednesday afternoon after pipe breaks on Tuesday.

Last week, Baoji Mayor Dai Zhengshe apologized to residents over the frequent breaks, saying they were "due to historical reasons."