THE quality of tap water plays a crucial role in the daily life of residents. In Futian, a total of 112,000 households in 197 housing estates have benefited from the pipe network reconstruction carried out during the four periods of the first phase from 2013 to 2017, with a total investment of 750 million yuan (US$118 million).

After the reconstruction, the problems of lower water quality and high leakage caused by the old and rusting pipes were solved. Also, the water supply management’s mode of having the meter reading and fee collection done by an intermediary has been canceled.

For the second phase of reconstruction from 2018 to 2020, Futian District will include 369,000 households in 612 housing estates. The second phase project will be carried out in three periods. Period five, six and seven will last from April 2018 to June 2019, November 2018 to June 2020 and March 2019 to December 2020. The investment for the periods is 797 million yuan, 886 million yuan and 1.31 billion yuan, respectively.

For the reconstruction plan, every household needs to pay 200 yuan and the government will cover the rest.

Changtai Garden housing estate in Futian is a successful reconstruction case. Built in 1997, the housing estate is home to 338 households in two 30-story buildings. The underground pipes were made of galvanized steel and the pipes behind the meter are PVC, which caused rust and made the water yellowish.

In 2015, the housing estate applied for the reconstruction and in September 2017, the project was successfully carried out. (Chen Xiaochun)