More than 200,000 have gone without water for nearly two days in eastern China's Jiangsu province after dangerous levels of ammonia were found in a local river, the Financial Times reported. The cut-off in supplies to the city of Shuyang is the latest in a string of pollution scandals that have disrupted basic utilities. Pan Yue, deputy head of the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA), warned that the condition of China's rivers and lakes is only getting worse. "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," he said. He pointed out that, although government spending to combat water pollution has increased, it "has fallen far behind the pace of destruction." According to research carried out recently by the World Bank in collaboration with the Chinese government, there are 60,000 premature deaths every year in China because of poor-quality water.