Another Big Chinese Lake "Looks Like Green Paint" As Algae Bloom Spreads

Beijing - Blue-green algae has emerged on another of China's large inland lakes, threatening water supplies for millions of local farmers, an official said on Tuesday.

"The Dianchi Lake now looks like green paint," said a press officer with the government bureau in charge of the lake. Like many Chinese officials, he would only give his surname, Zhao. The massive freshwater lake lies near Kunming, the capital of China's southern Yunnan province.

Zhao said the outbreak began in May and was thought to be caused by hot weather. However, he also said the lake has been badly polluted by local industries and sewage discharge over the last several years.

He said Dianchi is among the country's most polluted lakes and is similar in quality to Lake Tai, which last month also suffered an algae bloom that forced five million residents of the country's eastern lakeside city of Wuxi to drink and bathe with bottled water. Foul-smelling algae outbreaks on Dianchi Lake have occurred every year since the 1990s, he said. This year's bloom seemed to cover a smaller area than previous years, Zhao said, but was he unable to give specific measurements.

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