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LCQ8: Odours and hygiene problems of sewers in Tai Kok Tsui
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     Following is a question by the Hon Claudia Mo and a written reply by the Secretary for Environment, Mr Wong Kam-sing, in the Legislative Council today (January 21):

Question:

     Recently, I have received complaints from residents of Metro Harbour View in Tai Kok Tsui as well as those in areas around Tai Kok Tsui Road and Chung Wui Street, claiming that the hygiene conditions of a number of sewers in the district are unsatisfactory, with odours emitting from the sewers from time to time. They are gravely concerned that the bacteria bred in the sewers will disperse into the air and then spread through the dense population, thereby posing threats to the residents' health. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) whether the Drainage Services Department has regularly taken effluent samples from the sewers in the aforesaid district for testing so as to identify the sources of the odours; if it has, of the test items included in such tests, the test results in the past three years (including the respective concentrations of various heavy metals, hydrogen sulphide, ammonia as well as various micro-organisms such as anaerobic bacteria contained in the effluent samples), and the follow-up actions taken;

(2) whether the Environmental Protection Department has regularly taken samples of deposits and air from the sewers in the aforesaid district for testing so as to identify the sources of the odours and their components; if it has, of the test items included in such tests, the test results in the past three years (including the respective concentrations of various heavy metals, hydrogen sulphide, ammonia as well as various micro-organisms such as anaerobic bacteria contained in the deposit samples), and the follow-up actions taken; and

(3) whether the authorities will consider stepping up the cleaning of sewers in the aforesaid district so as to tackle the odours and hygiene problems?

Reply:

President,

     In Hong Kong, the sewerage system and the stormwater drainage system operate independently underground to enable separate treatment of sewage and rainwater. In general, the odour-emitting drains raised by the public are stormwater drains at the roadside. When these drains are blocked by accumulated waste or wastewater, the pollutants degrade in the drains and cause odour.  Regarding the odour arising from the drains near Metro Harbour View and the area around Tai Kok Tsui Road and Chung Wui Street, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD), the Highways Department (HyD), the Drainage Services Department (DSD) and the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) have implemented a number of improvement measures in the area including the clearing of pollutants accumulated at nearby back lanes and roadside drains, reducing odour in the drains, controlling the illegal discharge of wastewater and scullery water into roadside drains, etc. Since the stormwater drainage system is located underground, the risk of the public being infected through direct contact with the pollutants inside the drains is generally very low.

     There are now a total of 199 public back lanes in the Mong Kok and Tai Kok Tsui area. For maintaining the cleanliness and hygiene of public places, the FEHD cleanses these back lanes on average once every two weeks to reduce waste accumulation and blockage to roadside gullies and sprays larvicidal oil at the gullies regularly to prevent breeding of mosquitoes and spreading of diseases. In addition, the FEHD, after consultation with the District Council, carried out a targeted cleansing operation to the street and roadside gullies at five back lanes last year (including the one near Chung Wui Street) to further improve the environmental hygiene of the Mong Kok and Tai Kok Tsui area.

     The HyD conducts regular cleaning and maintenance to roadside gullies and stormwater drainage (road drainage systems) in Tai Kok Tsui and clears blockage found in the systems promptly. The HyD also inspects and cleans all road drainage systems in the area half-yearly; and for those in flooding blackspots, they are inspected and cleansed once every one to three months.

     To combat illegal discharge of wastewater into roadside gullies by food premises, the FEHD conducts regular as well as surprise checks in the area and takes enforcement actions under the Public Cleansing and Prevention of Nuisances Regulation and Food Business Regulation. In 2014, the FEHD initiated a total of 21 prosecutions and issued seven fixed penalty notices against the offenders in the Yau Tsim Mong District. In addition, the EPD inspects food premises and construction sites in the area and takes enforcement actions under the Water Pollution Control Ordinance against the discharge of wastewater into communal drains. In 2014, the EPD initiated four related prosecutions in the Yau Tsim Mong District. During the inspections, the EPD also gave advice and distributed pamphlets to the operators of food premises, reminding them to comply with the environmental legislation and handle the discharge of wastewater properly.

     Sewage from the Tai Kok Tsui area is collected through a separate system of underground sewers for treatment at DSD's sewage treatment works. The DSD inspects the sewers regularly and cleanses them when necessary to ensure normal operation and prevent blockage. In addition, the DSD reviews and analyses the condition of the sewerage system for blockage every year and devises suitable regular cleansing programmes. Currently, the DSD cleanses the sewerage system in Tai Kok Tsui three times a year and will step up cleansing for individual sewers according to their blockage conditions. Since we handle sewage and rainwater separately, and that sewage is collected by an independent system of sewers buried underground, the risk of the public being infected through direct contact with the sewage inside the sewers is generally very low. The DSD and the EPD have not taken samples of sewage, deposits or air from the sewers regularly for testing.

     We will continue with the above-mentioned measures and step up where necessary, the cleaning of roadside stormwater drains and the combat against illegal discharge of wastewater into the stormwater drains to improve the odour problem and safeguard the environmental hygiene of Tai Kok Tsui.

Ends/Wednesday, January 21, 2015
Issued at HKT 12:05

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