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Following is a question by Hon Chan Han-pan and a written reply by the Secretary for the Environment, Mr Wong Kam-sing, in the Legislative Council today (November 20):
Some residents in Tsuen Wan have relayed to me that in contrast to the beautiful scenery at the waterfront of Tsuen Wan, the sea water near the shore there has generated bad odours for years and the problem is particularly serious during low tides. It is learnt that as the problem is related to effluent being discharged into the sea through stormwater drains, the authorities intend to construct dry weather flow interceptors (DWFIs) to intercept effluent flow in stormwater drains and drainage channels and divert it to the sewerage system in dry weather. Moreover, the authorities are stepping up their law enforcement efforts against the illegal acts of connecting sewage pipes to stormwater drains. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of complaints received from members of the public about the odour problem at the waterfront of Tsuen Wan and the follow-up actions taken in each of the past five years;
(2) of the respective numbers of cases of sewage pipes being connected to stormwater drains in Tsuen Wan in which (i) the authorities issued letters to the persons concerned advising them to rectify their breaches, and (ii) prosecutions were instituted against such persons, in each of the past five years; the methods used by the authorities to track down such illegal acts; whether the authorities adopted in the past five years methods other than the institution of prosecutions to address the odour problem at the waterfront of Tsuen Wan; if they did, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(3) as the authorities are making preparations for engaging project consultants to carry out investigation and design for the construction project of DWFIs in Tsuen Wan, when such preparatory work will be completed; when the construction works of DWFIs is expected to commence and complete?
Reply:
President,
(1) The number of complaints received by the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) about the odour problem at the Tsuen Wan waterfront during the period between 2009 and 2013 is set out in Annex.
Polluted water and matters from some buildings and streets in Tsuen Wan have been discharged into the stormwater drains, and when some of the organic materials which are deposited and accumulated inside the storm water box culverts decay and generate odour, this may affect the waterfront.
To tackle the odour problem at the Tsuen Wan waterfront, the EPD has been working with relevant departments to control pollution at source and intercept polluted matters from entering the stormwater drains. Measures include rectifying defects and cross connections of public sewers and drains, eliminating expedient connections of sewers from shops and buildings, combating unauthorised food preparation or scullery activities by shops at rear lanes, and constructing DWFIs to intercept polluted water from entering the stormwater drains. To reduce the odour generation from organic materials accumulated in box culverts, the Drainage Services Department (DSD) will also increase the frequency of cleaning box culverts. The odour situation has been gradually improving following the adoption of relevant measures by various departments.
After receipt of the odour complaints, the EPD staff will contact the complainants, conduct follow-up investigations to identify the sources of odour, and explain to the complainants the relevant follow-up actions, such as the aforesaid measures, taken by the Administration.
(2) In the past five years from 2009 to 2013, the EPD had conducted dye-tracing tests for 887 shops in Tsuen Wan to ascertain whether they had made proper sewer connection. In addition, the EPD had issued advisory notices to the persons-in-charge of the seven shops identified with expedient connections of their sewers requiring their rectification. The persons-in-charge of the shops had then promptly rectified the expedient connections after noting the situation. No prosecution action under the Water Pollution Control Ordinance was warranted.
The EPD had also conducted dye-tracing tests for buildings suspected to have expedient connections of sewers, and referred 33 confirmed cases to the Buildings Department (BD) for follow up. For these 33 cases, advisory letters and 12 statutory orders have been issued by the BD under the Buildings Ordinance to the building owners. Rectification works of 26 cases have been either completed or commenced, with the other seven cases at various stages of follow up including issuance of statutory notices under the Mandatory Building Inspection Scheme and liaison with relevant parties on progress with compliance and issuance of the statutory orders. The BD will initiate prosecution against the concerned owners if necessary.
The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) has taken out 360 prosecutions against unauthorised food preparation, scullery activities and accumulation of refuse at rear lanes or open space. Apart from the regular cleansing services provided daily, the FEHD has carried out 612 special inspections and 483 special street washing operations. The DSD would regularly carry out CCTV survey to check the condition of the underground public drains and would conduct rectification work for those identified damaged sewers or mis-connections of the public sewerage system. In order to alleviate the odour problem inside the stormwater box culverts, the DSD has increased the cleansing frequency for the box culverts to twice a year.
(3) The DSD has commissioned a consultancy study in July 2014 to carry out investigation and design for the construction of DWFIs in Tsuen Wan, and currently the consultants are collecting and reviewing the background information. Detailed site investigation will start early next year. Detailed engineering design of the DWFIs will commence after completion of the site investigation and are expected to be completed by mid-2016. The construction works may start by the end of 2016 if funding approval is secured from the Legislative Council Finance Committee. Based on the preliminary estimate, the project will take about four years to complete but the actual time required can only be ascertained after completion of the site investigation and detailed design.
Ends/Thursday, November 20, 2014
Issued at HKT 15:58
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