国内英语新闻:Tap water supply resumed after manganese contamination in S China town

Da'an town has several spring water resources nearby so drinking water is not an immediate worry, said Huang Zhenyu, chief of the local government.

He said police and market regulators had been told to watch out for price hikes as shopping sprees for bottled water and food were likely.

The manganese-tainted water comes from Da'an Waterworks, one of the two tap water suppliers in town. It provides water for more than 10,000 of the town's total 50,000 residents.

It was the first manganese contamination case reported since the waterworks became operational in the 1980s.

The cause of the contamination is still unknown. Town official Huang Zhenyu said there was no manganese processing plant or mine around.

Health experts say manganese is a required nutrient, but high levels of the mineral can pose a neurotoxic risk, causing mental and emotional disturbances and difficulty in moving.