• Today around the world we are all facing the spectre of climate change, a challenge for mankind perhaps like no other in history. We see the effects of climate change in the rising numbers and intensity of natural disasters, polar ice cap depletion, the threat of droughts and many other natural anomalies. Given this current scenario, our department is actively taking prudent and effective measures to ensure that Hong Kong’s water supply can meet the demands of the growing commercial sector as well as consumers. To this end, we are actively expanding the use of cutting-edge technologies to ensure secure sources of water and maximise water efficiency. We are also initiating outreach programmes in the community to lower daily individual water consumption and discovering novel and cost-effective ways to ensure that we achieve our aim of water conservation and security to benefit everyone in Hong Kong now and in the future.

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  Carrying out research and development work

Water Security

• The Department has long adopted a multi-faceted approach to securing water sources for Hong Kong users on a 24-hour, non-stop supply basis with 99% reliability. In 2013, total fresh water demand in Hong Kong was 933 million cubic metres (mcm). However, in line with anticipated population increases and economic development, fresh water demand will likely rise to over 1 100mcm by 2030. In 2013 local catchment water collection comprised 26.5% of our water supply while the importation of water resources from DongJiang, China, totalled 50.5%, and the use of seawater for flushing came to 23%, accounting for 321, 612, and 278 mcm of water resources respectively. Climate change will lead to more frequent incidents of extreme weather consequences. For example, the occurrence of extreme drought will put our water security in peril as the increase in rainfall intensity coupled with a reduced number of rainy days will adversely affect our local rainwater yield. Over the last decade, we have seen an even greater fluctuating trend in our local yield, which probably is signalling the impact of climate change on our local water resources. Moreover, continued population growth and extreme drought conditions in China will lead to greater competition for Dongjiang water resources among the various cities of Guangdong Province, and this will become a real challenge for us in Hong Kong.

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  Pipeworks of Raw Water Supply from Dongjiang

Exploiting New Water Resources

• In order to aid in the search for new sources of water that will ameliorate the impact of climate change, the WSD has already begun planning and investigation studies on the construction of a desalination plant using advanced reverse osmosis technology in Tseung Kwan O, which is projected to become operational by 2020. This would meet 5% and perhaps even as high as 10% of our total fresh water demand in the territory through gradual additional facilities expansion. The scope of the planning and investigation studies covers detailed assessments on technical feasibility and cost effectiveness, formulation of an implementation strategy and programme, preliminary design, and various technical impact assessments for the construction of the desalination plant. The planning and investigation studies will largely be completed in early 2015 followed by a final detailed design. Apart from seawater desalination, studies are underway to convert treated effluent from the Shek Wu Hui Sewage Treatment Works into reclaimed water for non-potable applications such as flushing in places where it is not economical to do so. This reclaimed water source over the longer term will meet about 2% of Hong Kong’s total water demand. Separately, we are also looking into viable techniques to expand grey water reuse and rainwater harvesting. The WSD has now established the technical and water quality standards for non-potable applications of these water sources and will consider their implementation in appropriate government projects.

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Promoting Water Conservation

• Unlike other major cities around the world, Hong Kong’s average domestic per capita daily consumption of fresh water and flushing water is 130 litres and 90 litres respectively, which actually are much higher than major metropolitan areas like Singapore or London. Therefore, securing stable water supplies must be coupled with greater conservation awareness and water use efficiency to meet the needs of businesses and citizens of Hong Kong. Our current strategy starts with the younger generation in schools through education programmes that teach concepts and knowledge about water conservation. We are also expanding our reach to the public at large via the “Let’s Save 10L Water” campaign coupled with the free distribution of flow controllers for taps. Under this initiative, those individuals who have pledged to reduce their daily consumption of water by 10 litres would receive a special Commitment Certificate along with a complementary pair of flow controllers to attach to faucets in order to help maintain the 10 litre daily benchmark savings for water use. The flow controllers will, on average, help reduce the flow from taps by 20%, achieving savings of around 2 litres per minute. This small, easily installed device, if penetrated significantly into the market, will be a highly cost effective hardware measure to reduce overall water demand. To date, this scheme has been an unqualified success with the number of households being issued with flow controllers soaring from an initial 30 000 to reach beyond 90 000. Furthermore, in collaboration with the Housing Department, the Department since August 2014 has started free installations of flow controllers for about 25 000 households in public housing estates.

  On the non-domestic side, the Department has been carrying out water efficiency reviews in order to develop best practices for water use in selected government facilities and major water-consuming commercial trades, including catering, hotels and laundries, etc. In September 2014, we embarked on a programme to fit nearly 100 000 water flow controllers in schools and government buildings throughout the territory. In August 2014, we expanded the Voluntary Water Efficiency Labelling Scheme to cover flow controllers for showers and faucets.

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Enhancing Water Efficiency

• Our 15-year phased programme of replacing and rehabilitating3 000km of water mains will be completed in 2015. This programme will dovetail with a technology-based smart water network strategy aimed at reducing capital expenditures, curtailing road construction works and easing traffic disruption. Based on overseas experiences and results, the strategy is seen as the most effective and economical way to reduce leakage across large water distribution systems. As a major part of efforts to realise effective water conservation in Hong Kong, the strategy will incorporate the latest technological advancements to further reduce water loss due to water mains leakage. Under this strategy, large areas in the territory are designated as District Metering Areas (DMAs) comprised of discrete metered sections of the overall water supply network where water enters and leaves. Using cutting-edge monitoring technology inside the pipes, hydraulic data such as flow, pressure and other metrics can be constantly monitored and analysed to provide real-time snapshots of the DMA’s actual conditions.

  In the event that less invasive measures can no longer stop leakage below an acceptable level, our department will go ahead with repair and rehabilitation work to fix or replace dysfunctional water mains to maintain the smooth operation of the DMA. The application of this strategy is more than just finding new ways to use the latest technologies, it provides ancillary benefits like fewer disruptions to the public due to costly underground construction works.

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  Water efficiency labels

Moving into the Future

• Looking ahead, we are determined to strengthen our research and development team and activities as well as collaborate with other local and international parties to stay informed about the very latest developments in the water industry while also training our staff to use the latest in advanced technologies.

  The Department will also contribute toward increasing the land supply for development in Hong Kong by offering to relocate service reservoirs to caverns as well as disposing of our surplus staff quarters for more gainful use.

  Furthermore, over the years, we have embraced best practices for improvements in energy efficiency. In keeping with our commitment to protecting the environment, we have built on this solid foundation to develop an Energy Management System for the Department to be certified by the end of 2014 in accordance with the latest ISO 50001:2011 standards.

  By actively pursuing strategies that improve both water conservation and water source security, we at the WSD, along with the cooperation of the commercial sector and individual citizens, will continue to work hard to ensure that we meet the water demands of Hong Kong for today and in the years to come.

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  Posters promoting ‘ISO 50001 Energy
  Management System’ Energy Policy