Quality Water Recognition Scheme for Buildings safeguards public water supply (with photo)
The Water Supplies Department (WSD) will continue to provide quality water for Hong Kong people and will formulate a series of comprehensive water management measures for households to promote water conservation.
Speaking at the certificate presentation ceremony for the Quality Water Recognition Scheme for Buildings (QWRSB) today (August 30), the Director of Water Supplies, Mr Ma Lee-tak, encouraged property owners, owners' corporations and property management companies to maintain their fresh water plumbing systems properly, so as to safeguard the quality water provided by the WSD and help minimise water loss caused by leakage. The department also presented certificates to participating owners and agents, commending their efforts in maintaining their internal water supply systems.
"The Total Water Management strategy implemented by the WSD places an emphasis on containing the growth in demand for water through conservation. Measures include strengthening public education on water conservation and promoting the use of water-saving devices through the voluntary Water Efficiency Labelling Scheme. The QWRSB is an important part of public education, ensuring the public enjoy quality water and facilitating the prevention of water leakage," Mr Ma said.
"In order to design new measures for the promotion of sustainable use of water resources, we are now conducting a Domestic Water Consumption Study to collect information on how members of the public use water through face-to-face interviews. The study will help the WSD to design a series of comprehensive and customer-oriented water conservation initiatives for households in future," he said.
The total number of buildings awarded with Gold and Silver certificates under the QWRSB has increased from 1,300 last year to nearly 1,600 this year. Additionally, the participation rate of public housings has reached 86 per cent, while over 2,700 private residential buildings and further public services organisations have joined the scheme. This showed that the scheme has become more popular and gained much recognition.
Launched nine years ago, the QWRSB is a voluntary scheme that encourages property owners, owners' corporations and building management agents to regularly maintain their fresh water plumbing systems. To promote continuous participation in the scheme, several features were enhanced in 2008 including the introduction of three grades of certificates, namely Gold, Silver and Blue, according to the years of participation of buildings in the scheme. As at the end of July 2011, the cumulative number of households having benefited from this scheme has reached 1.4 million.
Buildings joining the QWRSB have to ensure that their fresh water plumbing systems are inspected every three months by licensed plumbers, or qualified building services surveyors or engineers, and that the systems are confirmed to be in good condition. All defects identified in the inspections should be promptly rectified. The water tanks also need to be cleaned every three months.
Water samples are taken in accordance with recommended procedures and tested for specified items - once a year for new applications and once every two years for renewal applications. The water samples should be taken within three months from the date of submission of the application or renewal and the test results should comply with the acceptable limits of water quality indicators.
Details of the scheme and application procedures are available on the department's website: www.wsd.gov.hk. Information can also be obtained from the department's 24-hour enquiry hotline: 2824 5000.
Ends/Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Issued at HKT 18:44
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