The 2007 water crisis in Wuxi, China: analysis of the origin.
An odorous tap water crisis that affected two million residents for several days occurred in Wuxi, China in the summer of 2007. Volatile sulfide chemicals including methyl thiols, dimethyl sulfide, dimethyl disulfide, and dimethyl trisulfide were the dominant odorous contaminants in Lake Taihu and in tap water during the crisis. These contaminants originated from the decomposition of a massive cyanobacterial bloom that was triggered by illegal industrial discharges and inadequately regulated domestic pollution. A specific emergency drinking water treatment process was quickly developed using a combination of potassium permanganate oxidation and powdered activated carbon adsorption. The emergency treatment process removed the odor from the tap water and solved the crisis successfully in several days. This experience underscores the suggestion that a combination of stresses associated with eutrophication and industrial and domestic wastewater discharges can push an aquatic system to the tipping point with consequences far more severe than would occur if the system were subjected to each stress separately.
Zhang
Xiao-jian
XJ
Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China. zhangxj@tsinghua.edu.cn
Chen
Chao
C
Ding
Jian-qing
JQ
Hou
Aixin
A
Li
Yong
Y
Niu
Zhang-bin
ZB
Su
Xiao-yan
XY
Xu
Yan-juan
YJ
Laws
Edward A
EA
D002681:China; D000458:Cyanobacteria / Q000302:isolation & purification; D055549:Volatile Organic Compounds / Q000302:isolation & purification; D014871:Water Microbiology; D014873:Water Pollutants; D014881:Water Supply
D055549:Volatile Organic Compounds; D014873:Water Pollutants