Last Tuesday, Shenzhen’s Water Affairs Bureau announced that residents of the city can expect to have safe and clean drinking water pouring from their taps as early as the second half of 2012.
Part of this is the result of 18.1 bln RMB invested throughout the current Five Year Plan, writes the Southern Daily newspaper, raising Shenzhen’s wastewater treatment ratio from 36% to upwards of 91%, but also in part due to new water sources. Shenzhen’s current main source of drinking water, East River, is also the single largest source of raw water supply for Hong Kong.
Shenzhen also announced that it has raised its wastewater reuse ratio from 1% to 27.1%. The city is slated to undergo a water quality inspection in July to evaluate how its drinking water holds up against provincial and national water quality standards.
Interestingly, the Southern Daily story seems to imply that Shenzhen was only able to achieve this somewhat miraculous feat after privatizing its water treatment facilities.
