Concerns remain over water safety

About a quarter of China's 4,555 centralized drinking water sources - rivers, lakes, reservoirs and underground reserves - are contaminated and pose a threat to people's health, Environmental Protection Minister Zhou Shengxian said yesterday.

He made the comments while reporting on the country's progress on water pollution at a plenary session of the National People's Congress Standing Committee in Beijing.

Much of the contamination is due to high levels of elements such as nitrogen and phosphorous, a senior official with the environment ministry said.