​Following is a question by Dr the Hon Chan Han-pan and a written reply by the Secretary for Development, Ms Bernadette Linn, in the Legislative Council today (April 30):
 
Question:
 
     It is learnt that in order to help save fresh water resources, the Water Supplies Department has successfully extended the coverage of the seawater supply network for flushing (network) to about 85 per cent of the population in Hong Kong. However, some residents of housing courts in Sham Tseng have relayed to me that as the Government's network does not cover their housing courts, residents can only use fresh water to flush toilets or purchase their own pumps to bring in seawater, and they have to pay the Government rent for the mains laid on Government land. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) of the housing courts that are currently not supplied with seawater for flushing and the number of households involved, as well as the reasons why they are not supplied with seawater for flushing, together with a breakdown by the 18 districts across the territory;
 
(2) whether the Government has plans to extend the network to cover all the housing courts in the vicinity of Tsuen Wan and Sham Tseng; if so, of the relevant timetable; if not, the reasons for that; and
 
(3) as it is learnt that residents of housing courts who have brought in seawater themselves for flushing purposes currently have to bear the double expenses of the cost of the seawater supply facilities and the Government rent arising from the seawater mains laid on Government land, whether the Government will, on the basis of the principle of fairness, exempt such residents from paying the Government rent; if not, of the specific reasons for that?
 
Reply:
 
President,
 
     Salt water has been used for flushing in Hong Kong since the 1950s. Over the years, the Water Supplies Department (WSD) has been progressively extending the salt water supply network which, nowadays, has covered about 85 per cent of Hong Kong's population. The network supplies about 300 million cubic metres per annum of salt water to consumers.
 
     The reply to the various parts of the question raised by Dr the Hon Chan is as follows:
 
(1) The accounts still using temporary mains fresh water for flushing (TMF) are scattered throughout the territory. The approximate number of accounts according to District Council districts is tabulated below (Note 1):
 

District	Number of TMF accounts
Yuen Long	16 740
Tai Po	5 180
Islands	4 610
North (Note 2)	4 030
Sai Kung	3 090
Central & Western	1 880
Tuen Mun	1 850
Southern	1 520
Sha Tin	1 110
Wan Chai	830
Tsuen Wan	780
Kowloon City	230
Eastern	220
Yau Tsim Mong	220
Sham Shui Po	90
Kwai Tsing	90
Wong Tai Sin	20
Kwun Tong	10
Total	42 500

 
Note 1: The number of TMF is counted by the WSD on an account basis. TMF accounts are normally registered by management offices, agents, owners' corporations and developers (not registered by individual households) for the purpose of collecting water fees relating to TMF. Meanwhile, there are no separate TMF accounts for domestic and non-domestic consumers. Therefore, the WSD does not maintain statistics on the number of households and housing courts using TMF in each district.
 
Note 2: The reclaimed water supply network in the North District was commissioned in March 2024. The WSD is supplying the reclaimed water to consumers progressively.
 
     The WSD is further extending the salt water supply network to Shui Chuen O Estate in Sha Tin, Tung Chung New Town and its extension, and anticipates to commence the supply of salt water progressively from the second half of 2025 onwards.
 
     In general, in the study of the extension of salt water supply network, the WSD takes into account the actual situation of the areas, including the proximity to the seafront, terrain, population distribution, cost effectiveness and technical feasibility, etc, ensuring the proper use of public funds. To supply salt water for flushing to individual areas that are remote, scattered, with low density or distant from the seafront, etc, the Government needs to lay water mains of long distance and construct pumping stations, which do not constitute the most cost-effective solution. Therefore, consumers in these areas use TMF for flushing. Meanwhile, the Government is promoting the use of recycled water in the Northern Metropolis for flushing and other non-potable uses. This will also help reduce the use of fresh water for flushing. The WSD will take into account the consideration of cost-effectiveness in reviewing the feasibility of extending the salt water and recycled water supply network to the districts listed above in a timely manner.
 
(2) In 2023, the WSD reviewed the cost effectiveness of extending the salt water supply network to Tsing Lung Tau and Sham Tseng. The review result revealed that although the areas are located in the proximity to the seafront and have a considerable size of population, the population and housing courts are scattered there, which require the laying of long water mains, resulting in higher construction and operating costs (If a salt water supply system is to be provided in Sham Tseng, it is necessary to construct an intake opening and a pumping station at the seawall for pumping salt water to the salt water service reservoir, and to lay water mains with several kilometres long. Such works are of larger scale and involve higher capital cost). Therefore, the extension of salt water supply to the vicinity of Tsing Lung Tau and Sham Tseng is not cost-effective at this stage, and thus the WSD has no relevant extension plan. The WSD will continue to monitor the situation and conduct review in a timely manner, taking into account factors including future developments in the area, engineering technology and cost considerations.
 
(3) Currently, for some private developments in seafront areas where the WSD does not supply salt water for flushing due to cost-effectiveness considerations, the Government will consider imposing lease conditions to require developers to construct flushing systems for residents, and to pay the licence fees/short term tenancy rentals for supply facilities that occupy Government land. The Sham Tseng housing court referred in the question falls under this situation.
 
     Prior to signing of the land lease, developers have acknowledged these terms and reflected the costs of constructing the flushing system into the land premium payable to the Government. This effectively means the Government shares a definite responsibility for these construction costs through the reduced land premium. Daily expenses being borne by individual property owners typically include (i) licence fees/short term tenancy rentals for water supply facilities occupying Government land; and (ii) maintenance and repair costs for the housing court's salt water supply system. Regarding the cost of item (i), regarding the mentioned case of Sham Tseng housing court, based on the current licence fees and short term tenancy rentals charged by the Lands Department, and calculated across the approximately 2 200 households in the concerned housing court, the average annual cost per household amounts to over $500. As for the cost regarding item (ii), while specific data for the concerned court is unavailable, the maintenance costs are expected to be reasonably affordable for the majority of households because salt water supply system is not a complex technology and the associated maintenance and repair costs are shared collectively among all households.
 
     For future development projects, the WSD will consider whether to include the relevant conditions in land leases for developers to construct salt water flushing systems based on the factors mentioned in (2) above. If such water supply facilities occupy Government land, the Government currently charges licence fee/short term tenancy rental according to general land administrative policy. For similar new development projects in the future, we will consider whether waivers should be granted for such licence fees/short term tenancy rentals, and will make appropriate announcements before the implementation of development projects.

Ends/Wednesday, April 30, 2025
Issued at HKT 16:55

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