On July 23rd, in Wulian County, Rizhao, Shandong Province, several residents reported that black water was flowing from the taps in their homes. Officials explained that due to dry weather and a lack of rainfall, the water levels in the reservoirs were critically low. However, netizens rebutted, saying, “Blaming the weather for the problem is an excuse, the water service group is negligent!”
In the early hours of July 23rd at 4:50 am, a homeowner in Furong Community, Wulian County, Rizhao, Shandong Province, posted a video saying, “I have been using water sparingly, but this is the tap water at 4 am, and it’s yellow.” In the video, after filtering the tap water through a layer of gauze, the water still flowed out turbid and murky.
Another homeowner shared a video showing mud coming out of their tap water. In the video, when they turned on the tap, muddy water instead of regular turbid water came out, in a deep brown color, making it completely unsuitable for consumption. The homeowner exclaimed, “This is the tap water in Wulian County, how can we use this water?”
Journalists from Huashang News contacted Wulian County Water Service Group Limited, who explained that due to persistent high temperatures and drought without effective rainfall, the water reservoirs were running low on supply, causing an increase in turbidity. They advised residents to use water at off-peak hours.
An employee of the water service company told the media, “The turbidity comes from the sediment at the bottom of the reservoir, and there is rust corrosion in the pipes. With the ongoing dry weather and lack of rain recently, the drought is severe now.”
The employee further added, “The primary reservoir providing drinking water for the county, Shimuzi Reservoir, is almost running dry. The water levels are critically low, leading to low water pressure, with some communities already facing water shortages, while in higher areas, the water supply has been cut off.”
The Wulian County Water Service Group urged residents to conserve water and proposed specific water-saving measures, including reducing shower time, centralizing laundry washing, using rice water or vegetable washing water for irrigation and flushing toilets.
This incident has sparked attention on social media.
Automobile blogger and Weibo influencer “Catzai Xiaoqi” commented, “Blaming the weather won’t solve the problem; the water service group is neglecting their responsibilities!”
History blogger “Zizai Jilu” stated, “Relying on the weather seems to be the only solution for Wulian County to address the water scarcity issue, which has become a growing concern for public safety.”
Netizen “Ar_Tianxingrenui” remarked, “The ‘black water’ incident in Wulian County is the result of a combination of extreme weather, infrastructure weaknesses, and inadequate emergency response mechanisms. Ensuring water safety requires going beyond attributing the issue to natural disasters and upgrading the entire water supply chain (source development – pipeline renovation – smart monitoring) to enhance water supply resilience. Only when residents can turn on the tap without worrying about water quality will the livelihood baseline be truly upheld.”