Mention of the "Nongfu" bottled spring water brand (Farmers Spring) inevitably brings to mind the slogan from its TV commercial, "Farmers Spring is a little bit sweet!" that has become familiar to almost every Chinese household. However, the brand has recently been confronted with a bittersweet challenge to its water quality, the Xiaoxiang Morning Post reported on June 16.

According to the latest Monthly Assessment of Surface Water Quality in China published by the Environmental Monitoring of China (CNEMC), water quality in the Qiandaohu (Thousand Island Lake) in east China's Zhejiang Province, one of Nongfu's water sources, has been categorized in Class IV, a state standard defined as "water for industrial and entertainment uses and not for direct human consumption."

Currently, the assessment of water quality in China is carried out according to the Surface Water Environmental Quality Standard GB3838-2002, which classifies water quality from I to V, with Class I considered the best.

On the other hand, an environmental assessment conducted by Chunan County local government and published on the website of Hangzhou City Environmental Protection Bureau on June 5 said water quality in the Qiandaohu area in 2008 matched that of the previous year, with water quality in all the 12 monitoring stations meeting the requirements of the state Class I-II standards.

Chunan County is where the lake is located. The local government assessment declared that, "The main pollution index is gradually decreasing, water transparency is gradually increasing, and self-sanitization capability is comparatively strong".

Regarding this seeming contradiction, a Chunan County government spokesperson explained: "Water quality in the lake area is generally good. The results differ because the water being assessed was collected in different water sectors."

However, on June 5, the Hangzhou City Environmental Situation Report for 2008 was published, stating that nitrogen and phosphorus pollution in the lake area was getting worse, especially in the Jiekou Monitoring Station where total nitrogen content reached the state Class V standard, the highest level of pollution criteria.

Li Juansheng, president of the Changsha Environmental Protection College, said that the condition of the water will influence the breeding and growth of aquatic life and plants and will result in severe consequences.

Even the Chunan County government admitted the water quality in some sections was not as good as the previous year. However, it put the blame on "the overload on the lake from the influx of the upper reaches of the Xinan River in Anhui Province."

An official from Nongfu Spring Co., Ltd. told Xiaoxiang Morning Post the company would take legal action to protect its rights and interests. An investigation team has been organized and will be sent immediately to the water source area.

Established in 1996, Nongfu Spring Co., Ltd. has become one of the top-10 corporations in the Chinese beverage industry and one of the states key leading enterprises in agricultural industrialization. Since 1997, the company has established seven natural drinking water and fruit beverage production facilities in state Class I water resource areas.

(China.org.cn, June 17, 2009)