Shanghai water supply ‘normal’ after panic sparks stockpiling: Authorities in Shanghai, China‘s financial center, have assured residents that municipal water supplies are “regular,” dismissing rumors of shortages and quality problems that on Tuesday sparked a wave of panic purchasing around the city.
Residents of Shanghai hurried to stockpile bottled water amid reports that the city was experiencing a supply shortage due to this year’s prolonged drought experienced across the Yangtze River basin and an incursion of the salt tide in the river’s estuary.
Shanghai’s depleted reservoirs started to receive seawater backflow in early September. The city’s water supply companies carefully monitor the situation and “scientifically” adjust water flows. The local administration announced it late on Tuesday on its official WeChat channel.
It said that water quality criteria had met and tap water production and supply are average.
Earlier this year, the COVID-19 city-wide lockdown in Shanghai sparked a wave of panic purchasing amid worries about food and water shortages. The lockdown ultimately lasted for more than two months.
A government official said on its WeChat channel that these were “regular” overhauls mainly intended to clear up pipes. However, residents were still concerned by a succession of notices on Tuesday stating that water supplies will turn off in certain sections of the city.
Since July, precipitation has decreased by as much as 60% in some regions of the Yangtze river basin, necessitating the use of cloud-seeding rockets and the digging of additional emergency wells by the government to guarantee that crops adequately water in time for the autumn harvest.
Poyang Lake, a significant Yangtze flood outflow, is at its most reduced level on record. In addition, numerous central Chinese reservoirs reported to be in “dead pool” condition last month, indicating they could not send water downstream.