On January 7, 2008, water pollution caused by the discharge of industrial waste led to the shutdown of a water company. 50,000 residents in Chikan Town, Kaping City, Guangdong Province, went without water until the water supply finally resumed on January 11, 2008.
The electroplating workshop of at nearby company started discharging industrial waste into the river via a hidden duct, 100 meters from the intake pipe of the Chikan Water Plant. Residents waited in long lines for tanks of water transported from out of town. Others tried to hang on by cooking with bottled water and doing their laundry in the Chikan River.
Source: Xinhua, Janaury 12, 2008
http://news.xinhuanet.com/local/2008-01/12/content_7409587.htm