Water Pollution in H.

K
(stream and marine)
Water pollution occurs when a body of
water is adversely affected due to the
addition of large amounts of materials to
the water. When it is unfit for its intended
use, water is considered polluted. 
 Main sources of stream pollution
and their adverse effects
Factories – e.g. dyeing and tanneries factories( 漂染廠 ), leather
tanning( 皮革廠 ), electroplating ( 電鍍廠 ),power station
Adverse effects (chemical pollution)
- discharge chemical wastes(some are toxic) and heavy
metal salts into the river
- poisonous to fish
- poisonous to man(through the food chain)
Adverse effects - (thermal pollution)
- Water withdrawn from the river to cool some industrial process
such as that in power station and the hot effluent will raise the water
temperature
- high temperature decrease the oxygen solubility in water and
resulting deoxygenation
- upset the aquatic ecosystem
Livestock farms – e.g. pig and poultry farms
Adverse effects
- large amount of manure is disposed into the streams
with little treatment.
- Unpleasant smelling gases: methane( 甲烷 ), ammonia( 氨 )
produced *affect the living condition of the nearby
resident
- absence of oxygen causes aquatic organisms to die
Pesticides (chemical pollution)
Adverse effects
- pesticides from farmland discharge into the river
- poisonous chemicals sprayed to kill aquatic organism
- poisonous to man
 Sources of marine pollution and its
adverse effects
Factories (chemical and thermal pollution) *same as the stream pollution
domestic sources
- everyday about 2 million tonnes of domestic sewage(e.g. human
sewage is produced
- 90% is untreated * serious in the Victoria Harbour
Adverse effects
- coastal water which heavy loaded with organic wastes maybe cause
eutrophication( 營養化 ) and give rise to red tides
- some red tides are toxic and the toxin may accumulates in the shellfish and
threaten the health of people when being eaten
- dissolved oxygen content in the water will reduce and fish will be suffocated
to death
- polluted water gives out unpleasant odour
- many beaches are polluted ,Bacteria, nutrients and other pollutants can
make swimmers sick
Transport
- oil spillage from ships occasionally contaminates the sea
- caused by wreck of oil tankers, cleaning of the tanks and seeping
from shipping and shipyards.
- The spilled oil covering the seashores kill seaweeds( 海藻 ),
crustaceans( 甲殼類 )
- The spilled oil kill sea birds because of the following reasons:
i.The sea birds can’t fly when their feathers become soaked with oil.
ii.When the sea birds clean their feathers, they ingest sufficient oil to
poison themselves.
- The oil contaminates beaches and thus spoils a valuable recreational
resource
- It is flammable( 易燃 )
- Oil layer prevent oxygen dissolve into the water
- Detergent( 清潔劑 ) used can cause another serious pollution.
Reclamation and excavation
Adverse effects
- reduce the rate of flow across the habour.
- pollutants easily accumulated in the Victoria
Habour
- reduces the dissolved oxygen for the aquatic
organism
 Affected areas

Discuss in the cases study

 The remedial measures and their
effectiveness
3 directions:
1)controlling at sources(legislation)
The EPD controls waste water discharges through the Water
Pollution Control Ordinance << 水污染管制條例 >>. Operators
are required to ensure their discharges meet standards
specified by the EPD, and these specifications are contained
in licenses allowing them to discharge their waste water into
receiving water bodies. The EPD regularly inspects operators,
responds to complaints and will prosecute offenders.
2) Providing Sewers
All sewage should be discharged into sewers ( 污水管道 )not
Storm water drains( 排疏雨水的雨水渠 ) which are only
meant to carry rainwater into the sea.
The EPD is trying to ensure everybody is connected to a
sewer or,in remote areas, to a properly working septic tank
system( 化糞池 ).The department prepares sewerage master
plans( 污水收集整體計劃 ) which required to collect the
sewage on a catchment-by-catchment basis and direct it to the
treatment facilities. The entire territory has been divided into
16 areas, and SMPs have been produced for all of them. The
recommendations of these SMPs are being implemented
progressively to cater for the present and future development
needs of Hong Kong and the work is carried out by the
Drainage Services Department. The plans are currently being
revised to take into account a projected population increase of
about two million by 2016.
3)Collecting and Treating Sewage
The Harbour Area Treatment Scheme (HATS)( 淨化海港計劃 )
is a strategy for collecting and treating sewage from around
Victoria Harbour. So far, Kowloon and parts of Hong Kong
Island have been linked to the Stonecutters Island sewage
Treatment works( 昂船洲污水處理廠 ), which was commissioned
in 2001. Further stages of the scheme are undergoing trial and
studies, as recommended by a panel of international experts
in 2000. These should be completed by the end of 2003.
** a collection and treatment system in Tolo Harbour has
resulted in a drop in red tides from 43 in 1988 to 16 in
2000.

Stonecutters Island Sewage Treatment Works

 Additional measure
A Beach Pollution Response Plan ( 泳灘污染應變計劃 )
Pollution incidents such as breakdown of sewage pumping or
treatment facilities, illegal discharge of high-strength commercial or
industrial wastewater, etc., may result in a sudden discharge of a
large quantity of raw or partially treated sewage in the catchment
area of a beach. Depending on the circumstances, the discharged
sewage may cause serious pollution to the receiving beach water
body, rendering it unsuitable for swimming.
A Beach Pollution Response Plan has been formulated by the
government in summer 1997 to tackle beach pollution incident
effectively. The plan sets out the required emergency responses and
actions to be followed by concerned departments and parties such as
Environmental Protection Department, Drainage Services
Department,Leisure and Cultural Service Department,etc.to tackle the
pollution incident and to make a quick decision on whether the beach
should be closed temporarily to protect public health
Beach Water Quality Improvement Works

Sewage pollution of local coastal water becomes an unfortu

nate byproduct of such growth that the antiquated sewerag
e system cannot cope with. Beaches with highly populated
but inadequately sewered hinterlands are particularly susce
ptible to pollution. To tackle these pollution problems, com
prehensive Sewerage Master Plans (SMPs) covering 16 are
as of the whole territory have been proposed for improving
the sewerage network of Hong Kong. After the commissioni
ng of all relevant improvement facilities recommended in th
e SMPs, better beach water quality can be achieved and ma
intained.
 Legislation:The livestock waste control scheme( 禽畜廢物管制計劃 )
The Livestock Waste Control Scheme (LWCS) was first promulgated in 1987 to
control livestock waste pollution (i.e. from the keeping of pigs, chickens, ducks,geese,
pigeons or quail). The scheme is revised in 1994 after extensive consultation with the
livestock keeping trade.The LWCS makes reference to the following three areas:
Control Area - livestock keeping in this area must be licensed by the Director of
Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation (DAFC) and must comply with the Waste
Disposal(Livestock Waste)Regulations 廢物處置 ( 禽舍 ) 規例
e.g Tolo harbour and part of Tolo channel areas, Part of Sai Kung, Tuen Mun

areas,etc.
Prohibition Area - livestock keeping is banned in this area
e.g All new town areas,Urban areas, Part of Lantau Island, Part of outlying
Islands,etc.
Restriction Area - no new livestock keeping is allowed in this area; only existing
livestock keeping activities either licensed by the DAFC or authorized by the Director
of Environmental Protection (DEP) and complying with the Waste Disposal
(Livestock Waste) Regulations are allowed.
e.g Part of Mui Wo ,Tolo channel ,Tuen Mun ,Sai Kung areas, etc.
 Effectiveness
The EPD has an extensive programme for cleaning up Hong
Kong's water which has had good results.
The number of Beaches with poor or very poor water quality
dropped to seven by 2001,compared with 17 in 1995. The
number of rivers and streams with bad or very bad water
quality dropped to 10 per cent in 2000, from 52 per cent in
1988. In fact, in 2000, for the first time no river was classified
as "very bad".
Toxic metal discharges have been reduced from 7,000
kilogrammes per day in 1993 to 2,000 kilogrammes per day in
2000.
In Victoria Harbour, the first stage of the Harbour Area
Treatment Scheme (HATS) to collect, treat and discharge the
sewage generated around the harbour was completed at the
end of 2001. Now, 70 per cent of sewage around the Victoria
Harbour receives treatment.
• Although our water quality has improved within some
parameters in recent years, but it is not enough for a
clean bill of health, particularly in areas like Inner
Deep Bay and Victoria Harbour. An expected growth
in population will put added pressure on water quality.
• Thus, Individual operators, such as restaurants and
factories, can help to make a difference by ensuring
they follow anti-pollution laws.
• Residents should co-operate with efforts to connect
their buildings to sewers. They can also try to reduce
their consumption of water, there by reducing the
amount of sewage that needs treatment.
 Reference
http://www.epd.gov.hk/epd/

The End