Latest news with #WaterSuppliesDepartment
South China Morning Post
10-07-2025
- Health
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong authorities confirm bitumen in water in Sai Wan Ho private estate
Hong Kong authorities have confirmed the presence of bitumen in water samples from a private estate in Sai Wan Ho, with the substance believed to have originated from upstream water supply pipe work. In a reply to the Post on Thursday, the Water Supplies Department said it conducted tests on water samples after receiving isolated reports from the management office of Grand Promenade in Sai Wan Ho about black particles in drinking water. The department noted that the water samples collected from the affected flats and the internal water supply system of the buildings, including storage tanks, were found to have complied with the city's drinking water standards. 'However, a small amount of black particulate sediment was found in the water samples. Preliminary analysis after testing suggests they are bitumen,' the spokesman said. 'We suspect these particulates originated from the public water main works upstream of the supply system, stirred up during the process of restarting the pumping system after the completion of the works.' Bitumen, a substance banned for use in pipes laid after 2005, was found recently in the drinking water supply at Queens Hill Estate in Fanling. Authorities said the sediments are likely residual materials that flowed into the estate pipes from an upstream steel pipe three years ago. The department's remarks came a day after a lawmaker received complaints about the black particles in the water. A resident also uploaded a photo of a bowl of water with black substances on social media earlier this week.
South China Morning Post
09-07-2025
- Health
- South China Morning Post
Fresh case of bitumen in water supply for Hong Kong housing, lawmaker says
Hong Kong authorities have provided temporary tanks and vowed to improve the pipes for thousands of households in Sai Wan Ho after bitumen particles were found in water supply samples, according to a lawmaker and the management of a housing estate. Advertisement Lawmaker Edward Leung Hei said on Wednesday that he had also received complaints about particles in the water from some residents at the Grand Promenade and Lei King Wan estates, which are home to about 2,000 and 2,300 households respectively. 'The Water Supplies Department responded very quickly after receiving the call for help from the residents of Grand Promenade,' he said. 'It immediately took water samples for testing. The results showed that a small amount of black bitumen sediment particles were found in the water samples. The particles were also very small, and the situation is not as serious as those in the Queen's Hill water pipes.' He was referring to bitumen, a substance banned for use in pipes, being found recently in the drinking water supply at Queens Hill Estate. Authorities had stressed that the water remained safe to drink. Advertisement Leung said the department suspected that the particles in the latest cases had come from upstream and were related to a public water pipes project.
South China Morning Post
18-06-2025
- General
- South China Morning Post
Bitumen-lined water pipe in Hong Kong to be replaced by early July: minister
The water pipe believed to have introduced black particles of bitumen into the freshwater supply at two public housing estates last month will be replaced by early July, the development minister has pledged. Advertisement Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn Hon-ho also said on Wednesday that they had completed more than 1,500 requests from residents at Queens Hill Estate and Shan Lai Court in Fanling to flush their water meters within one to two days, and most people reported improvements in water quality and did not require follow-up. The 400-metre (1,312-foot) section of the pipe lined with bitumen, located outside the estates and connected to their freshwater pipes, would be permanently decommissioned from early July and replaced by a temporary pipe. She said the Water Supplies Department last week 'adopted an unconventional mindset' and explored the use of exposed temporary pipe to replace the pipe in question, and formulated traffic arrangements near the construction site with various departments. 'Even though the relevant locations are busy with traffic and the construction site has limited space, the Water Supplies Department will immediately commence the construction after concerted efforts,' she told the Legislative Council. Advertisement 'The department will conduct the construction around the clock. It is expected that the temporary pipe will be completed by early July, meaning that the bitumen-lined pipe will be decommissioned permanently from early July.'
South China Morning Post
07-06-2025
- Health
- South China Morning Post
Replacement work on water pipe that gave Hongkongers scare to begin this year
Hong Kong will begin replacing a 400-metre (437 yards) section of water pipe lined with bitumen this year before carrying out citywide work, as it is believed to be the source of black particles dirtying the water at two public housing estates. Advertisement Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn Hon-ho said on Saturday that the government would prioritise the stretch of pipe between Queens Hill Estate and Shan Lai Court in Fanling, the only one lined with bitumen that connects the two sites. She said the city had about 700km (435 miles) of pipes lined with the substance and her bureau had told the Water Supplies Department to submit a plan to replace old ones across the city. 'To allay public concerns, particularly because of the emergence of sediment at this site, we plan to start the replacement project within this year,' Linn said. 'We have asked the Water Supplies Department to submit a plan to replace old water pipes to the Development Bureau.' Advertisement The substance has been banned from use in water pipes in the city since 2005, but authorities have stressed that the water remains safe to consume after residents voiced worries over the presence of the black particles. Linn said that bitumen-lined pipes were used internationally and posed no harm, with authorities also installing more than 1,000 filters in the water supply system.
South China Morning Post
06-06-2025
- Health
- South China Morning Post
Banned but harmless substance found in 2 Hong Kong housing estate freshwater pipes
Black particles found in the freshwater supply at two public housing estates are mainly bitumen, authorities have said, stressing that the water is safe to drink. Director of Water Supplies Roger Wong Yan-lok sought to reassure the public on Thursday after government tests revealed the presence of the substance – which is banned from use in pipes – in most of the 126 samples collected from blocks in Queens Hill Estate and Shan Lai Court, both in Fanling. 'Bitumen is insoluble in water and is not harmful to humans,' he said. Wong added that experts commissioned by the Water Supplies Department five years ago did not find any toxic substances in three litres of hot water boiled with 10 grams of bitumen. 'Even if residents drink water containing bitumen, there is no need to worry,' he said. Hong Kong's Global 6K for Water run highlights need for clean water Residents at the two public rental and subsidised estates first reported the presence of black particles in their drinking water last Friday, prompting some to buy bottled water as speculation grew over the source of the mysterious dark specks. Wong said the amount of bitumen – a black, sticky substance obtained from crude oil – found in the current samples was three-thousandths of the quantity per litre used in the department's past experiment. The latest tests showed the bitumen was found to be mixed with resin, a thick substance typically produced by plants. Wong said the pipes supplying freshwater to the two estates, completed between 2021 and 2022, were not lined with bitumen. The substance has not been used as an inner coating material in pipes laid after 2005. Residents of two Hong Kong public estates have started buying bottled water after finding black particles in their freshwater supply. Photo: Dickson Lee He said authorities believed that the bitumen could be left over from 2022 when the government received reports of a large amount of sediment flowing into the pipes of Queens Hill Estate. The sediment could have stayed in the pipes when Queens Hill Estate was used as a quarantine facility the same year. Wong said authorities had cleaned the pipes and installed equipment that could filter out substances larger than 0.1mm in December 2022. He noted that some sediment remained in the plumbing system, with the pieces becoming smaller and able to move over time. Wong also said the resin might be coming off the coating of valves in the plumbing. The government will step up efforts to clean the residue in pipes and test the water quality daily until the problem is solved, Wong added. Listen Up: Scientists uncover germs hidden in reusable water bottles that need cleaning Authorities will also replace materials in valves when necessary, while additional filters will be installed at every block of Shan Lai Court. The department later said it would upload its water test results daily on its website, adding that records showed the upper stream of the supply system in the area had a section that used bitumen as the inner coating material. Despite repeated assurances over the safety of the water supply, residents have continued to voice their worries, with a mother at one of the estates finding that black particles stuck to the surface of bottles when she tried to prepare baby milk formula. Asked whether he would apologise to the public, Wong said he could present his reassurances 'in another way' in the future to address public concern. A resident wraps a tap with tissue to filter out black particles. Photo: Nora Tam Wong King, executive president of the International Institute of Utility Specialists, said the bitumen could have come from old pipes outside the Queen's Hill neighbourhood. He added that bitumen could have also fallen into the pipes accidentally when the estates were being built. He said he believed that the incident was an isolated case, adding that it would be sufficient for authorities to clean the plumbing system rather than reinstall the pipes, as the latter would be inconvenient for residents. Drinking Water Safety Advisory Committee chairman Chan Hon-fai said it was possible that the substance came from old public pipes and had remained in the upper stream of those in Queen's Hill. He said that sediment could not be washed away initially, as the water velocity was low, with very few residents moving into Queens Hill Estate a few years ago. As more residents moved in, the water velocity would increase and push sediment out through taps in flats, Chan added. He suggested that authorities use technology as they continue to clean the pipes: 'I believe they can deploy small robots to check whether there is sediment remaining in the pipes.' Chan stressed that the water was safe but advised residents against consuming the particles.
