LCQ6 : Deployment of water tankers explained

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Following is a question by the Hon IP Kwok-him and an oral reply by the Secretary for Works, Mr Lee shing-see, in the Legislative Council meeting today (June 6) :

Question:

Regarding the despatch of water tankers for emergency water supply, will the Government inform this Council:

(a) of the numbers of water tankers currently operated by the Water Supplies Department and the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department respectively, together with a breakdown by three service regions, namely the Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories, as well as the basis for determining the distribution of water tankers;

(b) of the respective numbers of occasions in which water tankers were deployed to provide water supply to the various regions last year; and

Reply:

Madam President,

(a) The numbers of water tankers currently operated by the Water Supplies Department (WSD) and the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) are 5 and 66 respectively. Their distribution by service region is as follows:

Hong Kong Island Kowloon New Territories Total

WSD 1 2 2 5

FEHD 16 17 33 66

The water tankers of the two departments perform different duties. WSD's water tankers are used for the provision of emergency water supply, while FEHD's water tankers are mainly used for the department's daily operational purposes, such as cleansing and watering of plant.

WSD's water tankers are distributed on the basis of supply regions, with one tanker for each of the five supply regions in the territory. In fact, the Kowloon regions as mentioned above cover some parts of the New Territories, such as Sai Kung and Kwai Tsing, which are grouped with the "Kowloon East" and "Kowloon West" regions respectively. Apart from this, WSD also makes flexible arrangement in the deployment of water tankers. As Kowloon lies between the Hong Kong Island and the New Territories, the two water tankers of the Kowloon regions will provide cross-region support for the Hong Kong Island or the New Territories regions as and when required. In return, water tankers of the Hong Kong Island or the New Territories regions will provide the same support for the Kowloon region.

FEHD's water tankers are distributed in accordance with the workload of various districts. They will provide support for WSD's emergency water supply services if necessary.

(b) During the period from April 2000 to March 2001, a total of 508 water tankers were deployed to various regions. This figure represented the total number of water tankers deployed on each occasion. Their distribution by region is as follows:

Hong Kong Island Kowloon New Territories Total (number)

182 224 102 508

(c) When there is a disruption to the supply of water, WSD will first of all ascertain whether important facilities such as hospitals, prisons, the airport etc. will be affected. It will also assess whether the problem will have serious impact on the residents, such as during the meal preparation time. Under such circumstances, WSD will immediately arrange temporary water supply for the residents.

Besides, WSD will also assess the time required to resume the water supply. Storage tanks are normally incorporated as part of the water supply systems of multi-storey buildings. These tanks can normally maintain water supply to their residents for several hours. WSD will immediately arrange for temporary supply of water if the water supply cannot be resumed within a short time.

Water tankers are not always needed for the provision of temporary water supply. If other water mains are available in the vicinity of the affected area, a public standpipe will be connected to the fire hydrant to supply water to the residents within the shortest possible time. If such an arrangement is not feasible, water tankers will be deployed to provide temporary water supply.

Nevertheless, there are certain restrictions in deploying water tankers to provide water supply. Since a water tanker, which has a storage capacity of 6m3, is relatively large in size, it may not be easy for it to enter a narrow access. There are also constraints in serving an area with a small but scattered population. The parking location of the water tanker has also to be carefully determined, taking into account the actual environment. The location of the tanker should prove convenient to the majority of the residents, ensure the traffic safety of those who queue up for water, and avoid any danger caused by over-crowdedness.

In view of this, WSD has recently introduced the use of mobile water tanks with a storage capacity of 1m3 to support the water tankers in providing water supply in order to improve their services continuously. Since the mobile water tanks can be transported by trucks, WSD will have more flexibility in providing temporary water supply. Besides, as the water tankers are only responsible for adding water to the mobile water tanks in such case, the demand for the tankers will be reduced. If the use of mobile water tanks is proven successful, WSD will further promote such a measure.

We are aware that suspension of water supply will cause inconvenience to the residents. As such, we will try various means to reduce the impact on the residents, such as completing the emergency repairs as soon as possible to resume normal water supply. In addition, information on suspension of water supply, temporary water supply arrangements and the estimated time for the resumption of normal water supply will be provided to the affected residents as soon as possible through the 24-hour service of WSD's Customer Telephone Enquiry Centre, or through TV or radio broadcasts so that the residents may make timely preparations.

On the deployment of water tankers, WSD is supported by other departments and an effective liaison network exists between the departments concerned. Therefore, on the whole, the current water tanker service is considered adequate. However, we will review the need from time to time, and will further enhance the service when necessary.

End/Wednesday, June 6, 2001

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