Shanghai Waterworks Shibei Co signed an agreement yesterday with Kiwa Water Research, a leading water research institute based in the Netherlands, to cooperate in water treatment research and technology development.

The partnership will give Shibei, a major water supplier in the city, technological support from Kiwa and possible financial support from the Netherlands government to develop water treatment technology.

Shanghai Shibei supplies water to 4.23 million people in an area covering nearly 600 square kilometers north of Suzhou Creek, with a daily supply capacity of about 3 million cubic meters.
"The ultimate aim of this agreement is the development of new innovative technologies for drinking water production and water supply," said Kiwa in a statement.

"New technologies are needed for improving the quality of Shanghai's drinking water."

The city aims to greatly improve its tap water quality by 2010 when the World Expo will be held, in an effort to make tap water drinkable.

But the deteriorating fresh water supply, the result of polluted water sources that feed the Yangtze and Huangpu rivers, plus an old distribution network, makes it difficult for local suppliers to ensure their supply quality at the users' end.

"The collaboration gives us a good chance to learn from the foreign experiences in water treatment and distribution management, and their talent incubation mode as well," said Kang Lanying, head of Shibei's chief engineering office.

The two parties will set up a joint management commission to manage their scientific research.

(Shanghai Daily September 2, 2005)