中国东部江苏省发现当地一条河流氨氮浓度严重超标，地方政府本周被迫中断20万人的供水近两天。

Authorities in China's eastern Jiangsu province cut off water supplies to 200,000 people for nearly two days this week after a local river was found with dangerous levels of ammonia nitrogen.

此次江苏沭阳县的断水事件，是一系列影响到数百万人的断水污染丑闻中的最新一起。事件发生之时，一位高级环境官员警告称，中国河流湖泊本已可怕的状态仍在恶化。

The cut-off in Jiangsu's Shuyang city - the latest in a series of pollution scandals that have disrupted water supplies to millions - came as a top environment official warned that the already dire plight of Chinese rivers and lakes was still worsening.

中国国家环保总局(State Environmental Protection Administration)副局长潘岳表示："传统工业化的增长方式已使中国资源环境到了难以承受的底线，人民群众的日常生活受到严重威胁。"

"The traditional approach of growth through industrialisation has pushed China's resources and environment close to breaking point, and the daily lives of the people are seriously threatened," said Pan Yue, deputy head of the State Environmental Protection Administration.

潘岳在国家环保总局网站上一项声明中表示："传统的治理方式已不能解决积累的环境问题。"

"Traditional administration methods cannot resolve the accumulated environmental problems," Mr Pan said in a statement on Sepa's website.

世界银行(World Bank)和政府研究人员最近估计，在中国，每年有6万人因水质恶劣而早亡，主要集中在农村地区。

World Bank and government researchers recently estimated that 60,000 people in China are dying prematurely each year because of poor quality water, mainly in rural areas.

在中国的太湖、巢湖和滇池出现藻类大面积暴发之后，水污染问题已成为一个热点话题。中国国务院总理温家宝本月命令地方官员"强化监管，禁止工厂向湖泊排放污染物"。

Water pollution has become a hot topic following huge outbreaks of algae in China's Taihu, Chaohu and Dianchi lakes. Wen Jiabao, the premier, this month ordered local officials to "strengthen supervision and ban factories from discharging pollutants into the lakes".

但中国政府领导人经常作出这样的指示，潘岳的话无疑表明，过去的措施没有奏效。

But Beijing leaders have often issued such instructions, and Mr Pan of Sepa left no doubt that past approaches were not working.

在描述这一挑战的规模时，潘岳表示，2006年七大水系Ⅴ类和劣Ⅴ类水质占26%。他表示，国家重点监控的9大湖泊中整体水质为Ⅴ类和劣Ⅴ类水质的就达7个。

In a description of the scale of the challenge, he said 26 per cent of water in China's seven biggest river systems had been found to be unable to support animal life, or was dangerous even to bathe in. He said seven of the nine main lakes monitored had been found to be "wholly" polluted.

"十多年来国家斥巨资治理'三河三湖'流域水污染，但治理的速度远远赶不上破坏的速度，"潘岳表示，"至今这些本已改善的流域又被重新污染。"

"For more than 10 years the state has spent huge sums to deal with pollution in the drainage areas of the 'three rivers and three lakes', but the pace of action has fallen far behind the pace of destruction," Mr Pan said. "Now areas that had improved are suffering renewed pollution."