KHABAROVSK -- Water supplying is limited to Khabarovsk's residents since the city's systems fail to cope with cleaning the water taken from the Amur River and its tributaries, which are contaminated too much.

The situation is very serious in the settlement of Krasnaya Rechka, a large district of Khabarovsk.

The local sanitary inspection service has prohibited running water use.

The water turbidity is up to 75 milligrams a cubic meter, many times more than the safe concentration level, Itar-Tass News Agency reported.

Under the directions of the mayor's office, special vehicles deliver drinking water to Krasnaya Rechka for the fourth day already.

Sanitary inspectors ban swimming in the river in Khabarovsk because of the high germ and virus contamination.

However, in the heat when the temperature is 30 degrees Centigrade, people ignore the warning.

Tens of children ill with meningitis are hospitalized in Khabarovsk. The number of cases is described so far as a typical seasonal rate. But epidemiologists are concerned that it may develop into a mass meningitis outbreak.