Major indexes, including degrees of color, turbidity and remains of disinfectant will be put up online.

 

　　The data will be updated once every three months.

 

　　The announcement comes amid public concerns over a media report saying a Beijing couple, who are also water experts, stopped drinking tap water 20 years ago.

 

　　The wife, Zhao Feihong is a researcher with Beijing Healthcare Association's Drinking Water Committee.

 

　　Zhao says she spends over 800 yuan on water each month, as she is using different types of bottle water for cooking and drinking.

 

　　"Personally, I want to set my living standard higher and be healthier. I have the skills and technology to test the water and pick the one I prefer to use. So it is purely a personal choice, it is not something that can be put into common practice. "

 

　　The Beijing Water Group released a statement on Monday, saying the capital's tap water is up to the 106 national standards and is safe to use.

 

　　It says a three-tier quality control program is used to monitor the water condition. Water running at the production line is checked every half an hour.

 

　　Li Aiwu, the Director of Water Quality Control Center of the Beijing Waterworks, says as a large percent of tap water comes from underground, the standard set for nitrate monitoring in Beijing is even higher than the national standard.

 

　　"Since 40 percent of the tap water in Beijing is pumped from underground, there is nitrate in the water. According to national standard, each liter of water is allowed to contain 10 milligram of nitrate. And for underground water, the standard is 20 milligram. But we are still using the 10 milligram criteria. "

 

　　High nitrate levels in water may cause diseases to infants below six months.

 

　　Liang Li, the spokesperson of the Beijing Waterworks, says the company is also working on pipeline renovation to prevent secondary pollution.

 

　　"We have been renovating the old pipelines over the years. Over 200 to 300 kilometers of pipelines have been renovated each year. Based on government approval, we will upgrade all the old network in five phases."

 

　　It is estimated over 700 million yuan have already been put into the city's water supply network renovation.

 

　　For CRI, I'm Robert Costello.