Better quality water begins to flow in Shanghai

Shanghai’s water system is cleaning up its act. Starting yesterday 750,000 city residents received cleaner tap water from the new Qingcaosha Reservoir in the Yangtze River.

Construction of the Qingcaosha Reservoir, which draws water from the Yangtze, began in late 2007, reported Shanghaiist. “It'll be Shanghai's biggest feeding reservoir and is expected to supply 7.19 million cubic meters of tap water each day," according to the report.

This is replacing the treated water that flows into most Shanghai homes from the Huangpu. If you’ve seen the river as it flows by the Bund, you know exactly why the city is looking for a new water source.

The lucky few (relatively speaking in Shanghai terms), were mainly located in Pudong.

Approximately 10 million Shanghai residents -- roughly half the city by current estimates -- will get their water from the new reservoir by June 2011.

Yangpu, Hongkou, Zhabei, Luwan, Jing'an and Huangpu districts will start getting their flows from Qingcaosha Reservoir starting January 15. The rest of the city will follow by June with the exception of Baoshan and Jiading districts, which will make the switch by 2013.

“People will find the reservoir water brighter, with a purer taste compared with tap water from the Huangpu,” said Chen Guoguang, senior engineer of the city's Water Supply Inspection Center to Shanghai Daily.

In addition to having less of a metallic smell and taste, the water from the Qingcaosha Reservoir, is aimed at ensuring the city against water shortages caused by saltwater tides that affect the current Huangpu source.

This doesn’t mean that we'll be able to drink out of the tap any time soon though. Although cleaner than treated water from the Hunagpu, residents will still have to rely on boiled or bottled water for drinking.