*************************************

Following is a question by the Hon Mrs Sophie Leung and a written reply by the Secretary for the Environment and Food, Mrs Lily Yam, in the Legislative Council today (May 10):

Question:

Will the Government inform this Council:

(a) of the location of aqua privies under the management of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department;

(b) whether the cleansing frequency for individual aqua privy is adjusted in the light of its location and usage rate; if so, of the details;

(c) of the methods employed for cleaning up aqua privies; and

(d) of the average unit cost for cleaning up aqua privies?

Answer:

Madam President,

(a) There are a total of 596 aqua privies, including a septic tank under each aqua privy, under the management of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD). Their distribution is as follows:

District                               Number

Kwai Tsing                             7

Tsuen Wan                             26

Tuen Mun                              43

Yuen Long                            179

North                                 130

Tai Po                                66

Shatin                                17

Sai Kung                              72

Islands                               56

(b) Most aqua privies are cleaned by either the staff of FEHD or its contractors twice a day. The first round of cleaning is carried out at about 10 a.m. and the second round at about 2 to 3 p.m. FEHD or its contractors will, depending on the usage rates of the aqua privies, carry out desludging for the septic tanks every six or 12 months. The time and frequency for cleaning and desludging will also be adjusted according to the usage rates as necessary.

(c) During the daily cleaning work, the walls, floors, compartments, trough urinals and other facilities such as wash-basins and mirrors inside the aqua privies will be cleaned by FEHD or its contractors. For desludging work, FEHD deploys night soil collection vehicles to remove the sludge and transfer it to the sewage treatment plant for disposal. FEHD will employ contractors to clean the septic tanks using other equipment in a few areas that are not accessible by the night soil collection vehicle, such as the outlying islands.

(d) The average cost of cleaning an aqua privy by the staff of FEHD is about $47, and that for desludging is about $1,284. This consists mainly of staff cost and operation cost of the night soil collection vehicle.

End/Wednesday, May 10,2000

NNNN