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Registered Agents / Management Offices

The Water Supplies Department (WSD) is committed to provide a reliable and adequate supply of wholesome potable water and sea water. To enable consumers to enjoy quality fresh water and sea water inside their buildings, registered consumers, registered agents and management offices are encouraged to properly maintain their internal plumbing systems and thus create a healthy environment for water consumption. Regular checking of the plumbing system can identify and rectify small defects before they develop into major problems.

Maintenance Responsibility

• Registered agents or management offices are responsible for the maintenance of the communal part of the water plumbing systems within the estate and buildings. This includes water pumps, water tanks, communal piping and other associated communal installations.
• Registered agents or management offices should carry out regular inspection of the communal part of the water plumbing systems and rectify any defects immediately once identified.
• Registered agents or management offices are required to take prompt and appropriate contingency measures if water quality incidents occur. They are recommended to follow the guidelines on actions to be taken in the event of water quality incidents as far as practicable.
• Registered agents or management offices should cleanse the underground fresh water pipes after carrying out repair or maintenance works.  For the steps to cleanse underground fresh water pipes, please click Guidelines for Cleasing of Underground Fresh Water Pipes after Repair and Maintenance Works.

Maintenance of Water Tanks

The quality of drinking water supplied by the WSD fully complies with the Hong Kong Drinking Water Standards. Nevertheless, the owners, registered agents and management offices must consistently maintain the fresh water plumbing systems of a building at a high standard to ensure good quality of drinking water at consumers’ taps. For precautionary purposes, the registered agents and management offices should clean the sump tanks and roof tanks regularly according to the Routine Cleansing Procedure for Fresh Water Tank in order to prevent accumulation of dirt or rust etc. which may lead to discoloured water.

• The water plumbing system in a building usually includes sump tanks and roof tanks. Registered agents or management offices should cleanse the fresh water tanks and flushing  water tanks once every 3 months and 6 months respectively, or more frequently if necessary.
• For the steps to cleanse fresh water tanks, please click Guidelines for Cleansing of Fresh Water Tanks.
• For the steps to cleanse flushing water tanks, please click Guidelines for Cleansing of Flushing Water Tanks.

Tackling Leakage in Communal Service in Housing Estates

If the Registered Agent or management office suspects or is informed by WSD that there are signs of leakage in the communal pipes of a housing estate as indicated by the master meters of the housing estate, they should conduct investigation to locate the leaks and carry out rectification works as follows:

• Inspect the exposed parts of the communal pipes for signs of leakage.
• For housing estates with underground communal pipes, carry out step tests to identify the sections of underground pipes with leakage.
• For each section of underground pipes identified with leakage, engage leak detection specialists to find out the exact location of the leak spots.
• Repair the identified leak spots of the pipes, or replace aged pipes with serious leakage that are beyond repair.

If necessary, consult the Water Supplies Department (WSD) for technical advice on step tests and engagement of leak detection specialists. The following "Reference List of Local Service Providers which have provided Leak Detection Service under WSD's contracts", and "Guideline on Leak Detection on Underground Communal Service of Housing Estates", are provided below for information.

• Reference List of Local Service Providers which have provided Leak Detection Service under WSD's Contracts
• Guideline on Leak Detection on Underground Communal Service of Housing Estates

Please find the relevant slides here with more details on this matter (only Chinese version is available).

Quality Water Supply Scheme for Buildings

• Drinking water in Hong Kong is fully treated at water treatment works to ensure that the water quality complies with the World Health Organization's Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality. The WSD also ensure the quality of salt water for flushing conforms to the department’s standards.
• However, the quality of water can be affected by the condition of internal plumbing system. In order to raise the awareness of the importance of proper maintenance of the internal plumbing systems, the WSD launched the two voluntary schemes - “Quality Water Supply Scheme for Buildings - Fresh Water (Management System)” and “Quality Water Supply Scheme for Buildings - Flushing Water” for fresh water and flushing water respectively.

Proper Use of Fire Fighting System in Buildings

• The purpose of installing fire fighting system in buildings is to protect lives and properties of the residents by providing a convenient point to obtain water for fire fighting.
• For the proper way on the use of fire fighting system in buildings, please click "Proper Use of Fire Fighting Hose Reels in Buildings".