| Legco Q&A | |
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| Contamination of raw water - Sophie Leung | |||
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| Sophie Leung: Whether any contingency measures are in place to ensure that, in the event of serious contamination of the quality of raw water supplied to Hong Kong, there will still be an adequate supply of drinking water for Hong Kong residents, with its quality complying with the standards prescribed by the World Health Organization; if so, what the details of the measures are; if not, why not? Secretary for Works: In the event of an unexpected serious contamination of the Dongjiang water supplied to Hong Kong, the Water Supplies Department (WSD) has contingency measures in place to ensure that an adequate supply of water up to potable standard is maintained. Contingency measures covering both technical and operational aspects are laid down in detail in the guidelines issued to the WSD staff. The measures include procedures for monitoring the water quality, diverting and adjusting our supply systems as and when necessary, co-ordinating internal communication and taking emergency actions. Basically, the contingency plan is to stop receiving Dongjiang water immediately, and maintain water supply for the territory solely with the storage in local reservoirs. In fact, water supply from Dongjiang is suspended for one month every year for the purpose of maintenance and inspection of the supply system. Water storage in local reservoirs is then used to maintain the supply for the territory during this period. Therefore, WSD staff are highly experienced and well-prepared for the contingencies in the event of an unexpected contamination of Dongjiang water. Should such an emergency occur, under the present arrangement agreed between Hong Kong and Guangdong, the Guangdong side will inform Hong Kong of the event immediately through the established liaison channel between the two sides. The Water Quality Monitoring System of WSD which works independently, is capable to timely detect and verify if the Dongjiang water is seriously contaminated. In such case, WSD will stop receiving Dongjiang water immediately and maintain water supply for Hong Kong solely with the water storage in local reservoirs which is generally sufficient to meet our own consumption for several months. The water supply from Dongjiang will resume only when the problem of unexpected serious contamination is resolved. | |||
| 發佈日期: Wednesday September 16, 1998 HKT |
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