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Hong Kong water supply

Hong Kong water supply
The latest news, analysis and opinion on Hong Kong water supply. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.
last updated:
9 September, 2024
Workers were earlier left racing to fix a burst pipe in Tung Chung that caused a 12-hour water outage. Photo: Jelly Tse
Hong Kong society

Hong Kong authorities say sorry to Tung Chung residents after 12-hour water outage

Supply was originally expected to be restored at 6am on Monday, before it was pushed back to 7am, then 8am and eventually 10am.

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Hong Kong environmental issues

Editorial | Bigger bills will show need to save water in Hong Kong

Hong Kong economy

Hong Kong consumers to ‘definitely’ bear brunt of potential water rate rise

Israel-Gaza war

Letters | In Malaysia’s airport deal, legally separate isn’t morally separate

Readers discuss the opposition in Malaysia to the government’s airport deal, China’s cautious attitude towards Russia’s pipeline project, the location of HKU’s new innovation centre, and potential water wastage in Wong Nai Chung.

A woman wearing a hat with a Palestinian scarf attends a protest against arms manufacturers supplying weapons to Israel, outside the venue of a defence services expo in Kuala Lumpur on May 7. Malaysia has been one of the most vocal supporters of the Palestinian cause since the war in Gaza erupted last October. Photo: EPA-EFE
Hong Kong environmental issues

Hong Kong to spend HK$15 billion over three years for water from mainland China

New three-year deal for water supply from the Dongjiang, or East River, in Guangdong province has highest annual price increase since 2018.

Business of climate change

How Hong Kong firms can fight climate change with water-saving device giveaways

Hong Kong should appeal to consumers’ environmental consciousness through corporate campaigns to drive conservation and climate resilience, according to Neoperl, a leading maker of water-saving devices.

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Hong Kong environmental issues

Opinion | How Hong Kong can get its water conservation ducks in a row

World Water Day is an occasion to take stock of progress towards the sixth sustainable development goal on ensuring access to safe drinking water and sanitation for all. Hong Kong must take its cue from water-stressed nations that have applied sound strategies and technologies to address water scarcity.

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The reflections of the bald cypress trees at Hong Kong’s Lau Shui Heung Reservoir on December 30. Photo: Yik Yeung-man
Hong Kong healthcare and hospitals

Reservoir may be source of Hong Kong melioidosis outbreak but water is safe

Expert team still cannot say how it spread but highlighted several possibilities including bacterium entering reservoir through air vents.

Hong Kong healthcare and hospitals

Explainer | Hong Kong melioidosis outbreak: what is causing it and how can you stay safe?

An unusually high number of melioidosis cases has been reported in city since August, with a cluster in Sham Shui Po district.

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Audit Commission calls for speedier repairs to Hong Kong’s saltwater mains

Watchdog finds 13 ruptured saltwater mains still undergoing repairs, with average delay time of 4½ years.

The Audit Commission has called on the Water Supplies Department to speed up renovations at frequently rupturing saltwater mains. Photo: Handout
Climate change

Opinion | As Hong Kong battles Covid-19, rising water consumption is a concern

Thanks to climate change, Hong Kong on is track to become hotter and dryer in the future, putting our reservoir supplies at risk. Yet instead of doing more to save water, consumption has hit new highs since the start of the pandemic.

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Cleaners spray an open area in Lai King Estate on October 29, 2020. Climate change means water is an ever more precious resource. Photo: Dickson Lee
Hong Kong environmental issues

Global study finds record number of pharmaceutical pollutants in Hong Kong river

Study led by British university finds 34 different medication types in Kai Tak River, highest variety among 258 waterways.

Hong Kong's tainted water scare

Elevated levels of lead found in drinking water at Hong Kong building

Water Supplies Department reveals sample taken from private commercial building in Wan Chai exceeded city’s safety standards. Testing finds 17 micrograms in water, higher than the permitted 10 micrograms.

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Greater Bay Area

Opinion | How AI can be key to water security in the Greater Bay Area

Shenzhen and Hong Kong, the Greater Bay Area’s most important economies, both face serious water issues, which could impact business and daily life. Artificial intelligence, cloud computing and big data could provide solutions to the area’s water supply management problems.

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A view of the low water level of the Tai Tam Upper Reservoir amid a heatwave in 2018. The Greater Bay Area is one of the driest in China, and two of its largest economies, Hong Kong and Shenzhen, have less per capita water availability than Middle Eastern countries like Syria. Photo: Winson Wong
Hong Kong's tainted water scare

Hong Kong subcontractors cleared of perjury in 2015 inquiry into lead-tainted water

District Court judge acquits the pair after accepting they may not have known the difference between leaded and lead-free solder.

Residents collect fresh water at a temporary distribution point following the discovery of excessive amounts of lead in housing estates’ tap water in 2015. Photo: SCMP
History of Hong Kong districts

Heritage buffs want remains of historic Pok Fu Lam aqueduct saved from ruin

Critics say decision to protect only one section of conduit was ‘lazy’ and needs to be looked at.

Climate change

Editorial | New water deal is a step in the right direction

Hong Kong’s guaranteed supply of water from Guangdong province has resulted in excess and waste. The latest supply agreement will hopefully begin to change that.

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Coronavirus pandemic

Hong Kong to pay only for water supplied under new Guangdong deal

New ‘deductible sum’ deal with province for water from the Dongjiang, or East River, covers the years 2021-23.

Most of Hong Kong’s drinking water comes from the Dongjiang. Photo: SCMP
Conservation

Letters | Why Covid-19 should make Hong Kong expand seawater flushing

With rainfall low and Covid-19 increasing water demand, every drop of fresh water saved helps.

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From our archives

When Hong Kong realised water was cheaper from China

First mooted in 1963, when Hong Kong was gripped by drought, a desalination plant finally started producing fresh water in 1975, but not for long. The plant was shut down after critics blasted the high cost of running it.

Environment

Abacus | Japan will profit from Singapore’s taste for sewage. Hong Kong dig in!

Population growth, climate change and plain old bad piping mean it’s time to invest in the companies behind desalination and sewage recycling technology, writes Neil Newman.

FILE - The Sept. 4, 2015 file photo shows the Carlsbad, Calif. desalination plant which borders Interstate 5 on one side and the Pacific Ocean on the other in Carlsbad, Calif. UN Warns of Rising Levels of Toxic Brine as Desalination Plants Meet Growing Water Needs. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi, file)
Climate change

Letters | Hong Kong must not end up paying heavy price for cheap water

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Pipes in Sheung Shui, part of Hong Kong’s network to supply water from Guangdong. Photo: Edward Wong
Coronavirus pandemic

Letters | Will Hong Kong take a Singapore lesson on water security?

Visionary leaders would foresee worst-case scenarios and make strategic plans to deal with them should they eventuate. But there seem to be no signs of our government preparing plans for worst-case scenarios regarding water resilience.

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Hong Kong environmental issues

This tiny HK island is finally getting access to reliable drinking water

Tung Ping Chau has just a few dozen residents still living on it, so Hong Kong’s water utility is unwilling to build a permanent pipeline. So the community has finally given a desalination facility the go ahead.

Hong Kong environmental issues

My Take | Hong Kong risks losing the fight for water

There is a danger of being left out in the cold as major cities in the Pearl River Delta seek better quality supplies in greater quantities

A study calls for diversifying the city’s water supplies, of which up to 80 per cent currently comes from the Dongjiang, or East River. Photo: Dickson Lee
Hong Kong environmental issues

Think tank urges Hong Kong to reconsider water import deal with mainland China

Think tank asks the government to use reclaimed water, including harvested rainwater and treated waste water, to reduce its reliance on water from mainland.

Up to 80 per cent of Hong Kong’s water is imported from the Dongjiang in Guangdong. Photo: Dickson Lee
Hong Kong environmental issues

Letters | Got a water seepage complaint? Help may be a while coming

Hong Kong environmental issues

Lawmakers endorse plan for HK$7.7 billion desalination plant

But officials dismiss the idea of preparing second phase, saying both desalination plant and water from Dongjiang will be needed to offset risks from climate change on the city’s supply.

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