Public urged to work together in saving water (with photo)

The Director of Water Supplies, Mr Ma Lee-tak, today (June 2) said that the Government is committed to implementing a long-term strategy on water supply and will continue to enhance public awareness of water conservation through different channels.

Officiating at the award presentation ceremony of the Water Conservation Competition, Mr Ma said, "The Water Supplies Department (WSD) has been closely monitoring the development of cutting-edge technologies overseas in an effort to formulate an appropriate proposal for exploring alternative water sources. We are scheduling preliminary planning and investigation studies for the proposed water desalination plant in Tseung Kwan O. In addition, we are considering providing reclaimed water for non-potable uses in Sheung Shui, Fanling and the northeast area of the New Territories."

Mr Ma added, "We will adopt a multi-pronged approach to ensure Hong Kong citizens will continue to enjoy a stable water supply. We will also strengthen our promotion of water-saving to all walks of life so as to better the community's overall habits in water consumption."

The Chairman of the competition's adjudication panel, Professor Ho Kin-chung, urged the general public to put saving water into action in daily life and to persist in doing so. He said he hoped everyone would appreciate the fact that water resources on Earth are limited and make efforts to save water.

The Water Conservation Competition was organised by the WSD under the theme "Creative Water Saving Ideas to Share with Every Home". It called for creative water-saving ideas from all Hong Kong households and secondary school students in the hope of disseminating the message that concerted participation is essential in water conservation. The competition received 418 and 60 entries in the open category and the secondary school category respectively. The adjudication panel selected a champion, outstanding awards, special citations and merit awards from both categories, as well as commendations from the open category. Since the scores for some entries were identical, the adjudication panel decided to add one more award for each category as encouragement. Results have been uploaded to the WSD website www.wsd.gov.hk and the competition website http://www.waterconservation.hk/.

Other prize presenters at the ceremony included the Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Water Resources and Quality of Water Supplies, Dr Chan Hon-fai, and the Managing Director and Founder of China Polar Museum Foundation, Dr Rebecca Lee, who was also the competition's adjudication panel member. Other adjudication panel members were the former Director of the Hong Kong Observatory, Mr Lam Chiu-ying, and the Head of the Department of Journalism and Communication of Hong Kong Shue Yan University, Professor Leung Tin-wai.

Ends/Saturday, June 2, 2012
Issued at HKT 17:52

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The Director of Water Supplies, Mr Ma Lee-tak (second left); the Chairman of the Water Conservation Competition's Adjudication Panel, Professor Ho Kin-chung (first left); the Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Water Resources and Quality of Water Supplies, Dr Chan Hon-fai (second right); and competition adjudication panel member and Managing Director and Founder of China Polar Museum Foundation, Dr Rebecca Lee (first right), pictured with the champions of the open category and the secondary school category.

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