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The Government is extremely concerned about the discovery of excessive amounts of lead in the drinking water of some public housing estates since early last month, and has taken follow-up actions and contingency measures to deal with the issue using a multi-pronged approach. In the past few weeks our colleagues in the Water Supplies Department (WSD) have been fully devoted to the task of providing a temporary water supply for the affected residents. They have worked with the Housing Department in a timely manner to set up water wagons and temporary water tanks at suitable locations, and laid down temporary standpipes on the ground floors of the affected housing estates to facilitate water collection by residents. In addition, the WSD also followed the Government’s move to gradually expand the coverage of water sampling tests in public housing estates, and has taken more than 2 800 drinking water samples for testing so far. Here, I would like to point out that water sampling has to follow stringent procedures to ensure the accuracy of the results. For details, please visit:
www.wsd.gov.hk/filemanager/en/share/pdf/Water_Sampling_Procedure_and_Cleaning_Procedure_for_Sampling_Bottles-e.pdf
Furthermore, the water samples collected should be sent to accredited laboratories for testing. It should also be noted that different accredited laboratories have different types of equipment for testing metals in water, and only a few of them are capable of testing for lead in water. For details, please visit:
www.itc.gov.hk/en/quality/hkas/doc/Testing_of_lead_and_other_heavy_metals_in_water_en.pdf
About two weeks ago, I visited colleagues working in the WSD’s laboratory at the Sha Tin Water Treatment Works and took the opportunity to learn more about the procedures for water sampling tests. The laboratory has had to process more than 100 water samples from various housing estates every day since the lead problem emerged. Despite a tight schedule, our colleagues strictly follow the quality requirements of the Hong Kong Laboratory Accreditation Scheme in conducting the tests so as to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the results. Over the past few weeks, they have had to work extremely long hours, with some even working till 4am. I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude for their dedication to their work and professional service to the public during this trying moment.
Moreover, to enable the public to have handy information on lead in drinking water, the WSD, in collaboration with other government departments, has produced a booklet entitled “Hong Kong’s Water Supply – Reducing Lead in Drinking Water” within a short period of time. The booklet includes information on the quality of drinking water, factors leading to water contamination and health fact sheets. We hope that the public will find it useful. The booklet is available at:
www.isd.gov.hk/drinkingwater/pdf/hk_water_supply_booklet_e.pdf
In addition to supplying safe drinking water to the community, the WSD is also committed to working in other areas, such as developing seawater desalination and water reclamation, promoting a culture of water conservation and implementing the Water Intelligent Networks to enhance the management of water mains. In addition, it deals with burst and leaking water mains, which are of major concern to the public. Recently, the department received thank-you letters from residents and District Council members of different political parties for its professionalism in maintaining contact with the stakeholders during water works, thus minimising the impact on affected residents.
We will continue to work with dedication by serving the public professionally. Your advice is highly welcome and will be followed up on as quickly as possible.
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