The top water authority has ordered companies to make public the results of their drinking water quality tests to guarantee safety.

The Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development urged all water supply enterprises to release water quality information regularly and receive supervision from the public by the end of 2013, according to an announcement in October.

City governments will hand in detailed plans on the new information disclosure system to the ministry, which is responsible for water supply, before April.

According to the ministry, large water supply enterprises should have the capability of examining 106 quality indicators. They are currently capable of examining 36. All of the enterprises should conduct examinations on regular indicators.

Many cities will make the examination results available to the public.

Beijing made the first move in 2013, saying that starting on Jan 15 residents will be able to check the examination results of all 106 indicators on Beijing Waterworks Group's website.

The group will release quarterly reports on water quality as well, but only annual reports will cover all of the indicators.

Some cities, such as Shanghai and Guangzhou, made water quality information public in 2012. Shanghai released monthly test results of 42 regular indicators and semiannual reports on 106 indicators.

- Zheng Jinran

(China Daily 01/09/2013 page4)