Safety of drinking water will be the top priority of the government of China's northernmost Heilongjiang Province in the next five years.

Harbin will attach greater importance to ensuring a safe drinking water supply, building sewage treatment plants, and containing industrial pollution, said Yan Weiliang, a spokesman with the Provincial Environmental Protection Bureau at a recent press conference.

A series of substantial measures will be employed, including the protection of drinking water sources, treatment of serious polluters and enhancement of water quality monitoring.

"All these are efforts to reduce pollution and improve the water quality of the Songhua River," Yan said.

Meanwhile, a regular briefing system will also be established to provide public with access to information about the government's efforts on water pollution control.

Around 100 tons of pollutants containing hazardous benzene spilled into the Songhua River after a chemical plant explosion on Nov. 13 in northeast China's Jilin Province.

The incident obliged the cities along the river, including Harbin, the capital of Heilongjiang Province and a city of more than three million people, to temporarily suspend the water supply.

Earlier this month, Zhou Shengxian, director of the State Environmental Protection Administration, told a press conference that the thawing of the frozen Songhua River will not cause a second pollution as spring approaches.

"Although the situation is improving, the government will continue its efforts to monitor, test and analyse the water quality of the Songhua River in order to provide clean drinking water for local residents," Yan said.

(Xinhua News Agency March 27, 2006)