Following is a question by the Hon Kenneth Lau and a written reply by the Secretary for Environment and Ecology, Mr Tse Chin-wan, in the Legislative Council today (February 15):
 
Question:
 
     It is learnt that public sewers still have not been laid in a number of villages in Hong Kong and villagers can only rely on primitive facilities to treat their sewage, the relevant sanitary conditions are therefore far from satisfactory. Some villagers have relayed to me that they hope the Government can expeditiously roll out the village sewerage programme (the programme) to cover unsewered villages and subsidise all villages across the territory to connect sewers from village houses to public sewers. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) of the respective current numbers of villages that have been included and those that have not yet been included into the programme; among the villages that have been included into the programme, of the respective numbers of those where the sewerage projects have been completed and those where the projects are being carried out, and set out by district the names of the villages, the numbers of village houses and the numbers of villagers involved in respect of the aforesaid two sets of figures; the reasons why the villages concerned have not yet been included into the programme;
 
(2) of the details of the sewerage projects mentioned in (1) which are being carried out, including the names of the villages involved, the project titles, the project commencement dates and target completion dates;
 
(3) among the villages mentioned in (1) where the sewerage projects have been completed, of the current percentage of households that have not yet connected their houses' sewers to public sewers, and whether it knows the reasons for that; and
 
(4) whether it will examine subsidising all villages across the territory to connect village houses' sewers to public sewers, or allowing village house owners aged 60 or above to receive subsidies under the "Building Maintenance Grant Scheme for Needy Owners" without going through income assessment and means test, so as to help them connect their houses' sewers to public sewers as early as possible?
 
Reply:
 
President,
 
     The Government has been working closely with the Heung Yee Kuk to take continuous actions and allocate resources, including the implementation of the village sewerage programme (the Programme), which progressively provides public sewerage facilities in village areas to improve rural environmental hygiene conditions, while enhancing the water quality of rivers and coastal waters at the same time. The Government will take into account the level of improvement to the environment by the Programme, density of village population, preference of residents, technical feasibility, cost effectiveness and resources availability, etc. in taking forward the progressive extension of relevant sewerage works to unsewered village areas.
 
     The Government's consolidated response to the questions raised by the Hon Kenneth Lau is as follows:
 
(1) As at end of 2022, the Programme has covered 581 villages, of which the sewerage systems for 263 villages with relatively large de jure population and in close proximity to public sewerage works have been completed. Separately, public sewerage works for another 62 villages are currently under construction. Relevant details are set out in Annex 1. We are actively planning relevant projects for the remaining villages according to the aforementioned considerations.
 
(2) Currently, the Drainage Services Department is carrying out village sewerage projects in various districts. Relevant details are set out in Annex 2.
 
(3) For villages with public sewers in place, all relevant government departments would collaborate in assisting the village households to carry out the connection works. So far, about 95 per cent of the village households have completed the connection works to public sewers. The main reasons for not being able to complete the relevant connection works include limited land available due to the original house design or unauthorised building works, or encroachment on other people's land, obstruction from underground utilities or sewers, and inadequate hydraulic gradient at the village house site, etc. Nevertheless, those village households may continue to use septic tanks or other original sewerage facilities; and ensure their normal operation through regular maintenance, so as to alleviate any potential environmental hygiene problems that may be caused by sewage discharge. We will continue to provide appropriate assistance to the village households and help them to complete the connection works to public sewers.
 
(4) To facilitate the connection of private sewers to public ones by village households, we have made every effort to cover all village houses in the village area and extend the branch sewers up to the boundaries of private land at the same time to shorten the connection distance and reduce the cost of connection works during project planning and design of the village sewerage system. Since the sewerage connecting pipes and the terminal manholes of each of the village houses are all located in private lots, they are private properties and facilities that belonged to and dedicated to be used solely by the concerned village houses. Village households should be responsible for the cost of the relevant connection works. Such arrangement is also in line with the Government's principles of fairness and proper use of resources.
 
     The Building Maintenance Grant Scheme for Needy Owners (BMGSNO) aims to subsidise owners with financial difficulties (including elderly owners aged 60 or above who pass the means test) to repair their self-occupied properties. The scope of works eligible under BMGSNO includes improvement works for building services and sanitary facilities, covering works to connect village house sewers to public sewers. BMGSNO's income and asset limits for elderly applicants have been relaxed since its launch in 2020. Currently, the monthly income limit for elderly applicants is $10,430 (for singletons) / $15,810 (for couples); whilst the asset limit is $1,122,000 (for singletons) / $1,704,000 (for couples). For fiscal prudence and efficient use of public funds, we consider it appropriate to set income and asset limits under BMGSNO.

Ends/Wednesday, February 15, 2023
Issued at HKT 15:32

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