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    Following is a question by the Hon Choy So-yuk and a written reply by the Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works, Dr Sarah Liao, at the Legislative Council meeting today (March 9):

Question:

    Last year, the Shenzhen Municipal Government proposed to pump seawater to flush the Shenzhen River in order to improve the water quality there.  In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it has assessed the impacts of such flushing on the ecosystems of the RAMSAR site around Mai Po and Inner Deep Bay as well as other waters in Hong Kong; if it has, of the results and the remedial measures to be adopted; if not, the reasons for that?

Reply:

Madam President,

    The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government has all along been working with the Shenzhen authorities on improving the water quality and pollution control of the Shenzhen River through the Shenzhen - Hong Kong Joint Working Group on the Shenzhen River Regulation Project (JWG).  The scope of work included the Shenzhen River Regulation Project at the beginning and gradually extended to cover pollution control and cleaning-up operations, such as the scavenging of floating refuse of the river in recent years.

    At the first meeting of the Environmental Management Special Panel under the JWG in August 2003, the Shenzhen side proposed the "Shenzhen River Flushing Project" to improve the environmental quality of the Shenzhen River and its catchment.   By constructing a pumping station at Mirs Bay, seawater will be used to flush the river aiming at increasing the base flow, diluting the pollutant levels and reducing the retention time of the river.  At the meeting, the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) and the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) of the HKSAR Government expressed great concern over the proposal's impacts on Deep Bay, in particular, the RAMSAR site at Mai Po.  The Shenzhen side had also expressed their understanding to our concern.  Recognising the complexity of the "Shenzhen River Flushing Project" and the impact on the environment, both sides agreed that it was prudent to conduct a preliminary study to ascertain the feasibility of the project before considering a more thorough, comprehensive study to avoid any damage to the environment.  

    In early 2004, the Shenzhen side commissioned the Centre for Coastal and Atmospheric Research (CCAR) of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) and the Xiamen University (XU) to conduct preliminary studies on the potential environmental impacts of the project.  The Shenzhen River Regulation Office had also organised two seminars in Hong Kong and Shenzhen in March and November last year respectively to brief the green groups and relevant government departments from Hong Kong on the objectives, methodology and latest findings of the preliminary study and to listen to their views. Representatives of the Environment, Transport and Works Bureau of the HKSAR Government had also attended the seminars to keep abreast of the study progress and gauge the views of green groups.

    At the moment, the preliminary feasibility studies undertaken by CCAR and XU are at their final stage and we are awaiting further details from the Shenzhen side.  Once the materials are available, we will evaluate whether it is appropriate to proceed on a more comprehensive study of the "Shenzhen River Flushing Project" and we would formally inform the Shenzhen authorities of our position.

    In fact, apart from the Shenzhen River, the Hong Kong and Shenzhen sides had also established water quality protection and pollution control policies for Mirs Bay and Deep Bay in 1999 and 2000 respectively to strengthening our co-operation on the protection of our common waters.   In accordance with these policies, we have not only launched the Livestock Waste Control Scheme to reduce the pollution of local rivers caused by livestock waste, but also enhanced our sewerage and sewage treatment facilities to reduce the pollution load to the above waterbodies.

Ends/Wednesday, March 9, 2005

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