Millions of termites have attacked a dam on the Maoli reservoir in Chongqing Municipality causing the reservoir to leak, officials from the local water resource bureau said.

Maoli reservoir in Qijiang County supplies drinking water to the 30,000 residents of the area. In recent years frequent termite infestations have caused the mud-built dam to leak badly.

The water bureau spent more than 80,000 yuan to fight the latest outbreak. Dozens of people were mobilized to find the termite kings and queens. Eight nests, each containing millions of termites, were found. "The kings and queens are as big as doodlebugs," an official said.

Last year, a reservoir at Yongchuan was also attacked. During the clear up 41 termite kings and queens were found.

A termite colony dies out when the queen of the nest is killed, and experts say the most effective way to control the pests is to dig out the king and queen. The nest is then filled with mud and rocks mixed with pesticides.

(China.org.cn by Wu Nanlan, March 25, 2008)