Pipeline means better tap water

SHANGHAI'S key tap-water improvement project took a step forward yesterday when workers finished digging an underground water pipe that will carry water from Qingcaosha Reservoir to downtown.

The pipe is 1,960 meters long and part of a 27-kilometer-long pipeline now under construction in Pudong New Area.

A total of four pipelines will be built to supply water to downtown and suburban areas, according to Qingcaosha Co, the project operator.

When the 17-billion-yuan (US$2.49 billion) Qingcaosha Reservoir project is completed next year, it will provide better-quality tap water to about 10 million Shanghai residents.

The reservoir sits next to Changxing Island in the city's northeast. It will draw water from the Yangtze River.

The 70-square-kilometer reservoir will be 10 times bigger than Hangzhou's West Lake.

At present the Huangpu River is Shanghai's major source of water, with 80 percent of tap water being taken from the meandering body of water.

Upon completion of the reservoir, water from the Yangtze will supply up to 50 percent of the city's tap water, authorities said.

The project, which began in November 2007, is expected to supply water that meets the nation's second-highest quality level after processing.

The city has been troubled by a shortage of quality water supplies. The tap water in Shanghai now only meets China's third-highest quality standard.

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