A hydropower plant in Qinghai Province, northwest China, was fined for releasing dirty floodwater and contaminating the tap water of a city in a neighboring province.The power plant was fined 100,000 yuan (about 16,339 US dollars) and its executive was detained for ten days for obstructing the investigation, the Ministry of Environmental Protection said in a statement on Monday.

In early March complaints were lodged about the strange odor and taste of tap water in Lanzhou City, capital of Gansu Province.

The ministry was informed on March 4 and immediately organized interprovincial countermeasures. Lanzhou's tap water was decontaminated by March 7.

Environment departments in Qinghai and Gansu showed that floodwater released into the Huangshui River by the power plant contained a large amount of mud, sand and other deposits.

According to the ministry, the power plant failed to effectively prevent deposition and coordination on water quality and warnings between the two provinces was poor.

Eight officials from Qinghai and Gansu were punished, one of which was dismissed, the ministry said.

The ministry instructed the two provinces to tighten monitoring along the river.

After the incident, Lanzhou government signed an agreement with Haidong City, where the powerplant is located, to jointly monitor the river, share information and respond to pollution emergency.