Oh, we're not supposed to drink the water?

In another case of contamination of regional water supply, officials in Shanxi province of northern China have cut off the water to 28,000 households after a truck overturned due to 'brake failure' on the highway, spilling 33 tonnes of toxic chemicals into a river that supplies water to Xiyang county.

The Associated Press reports via MSNBC:

The truck was carrying wash oil, also known as creosote, when it overturned and dumped its contents into a river in Shanxi province, contaminating 70 million cubic feet of water, the [Xinhua news] agency said, citing the provincial environmental bureau.

In an interesting twist, the spill happened to occur last Thursday, but was not reported until yesterday afternoon by local officials. Of course, the reason for this delay was not given. Why should it be? It's not like lives are at stake here...

While local residents are waiting for the water to be turned on so they can get a good taste of that carbon-activated, oil infused swill the government will tell them is tap water, purified water is being hauled in from neighbouring villages whose trucks go in for more regularly scheduled brake checks.

Photo from LeishaJo's flickr page.