Examination of Estimates of Expenditure 2018-19 Reply Serial No. DEVB(W)101 CONTROLLING OFFICER’S REPLY (Question Serial No. 1960) Head: (194) Water Supplies Department Subhead (No. & title): (000) Operational Expenses Programme: (1) Water Supply: Planning and Distribution Controlling Officer: Director of Water Supplies (C L WONG) Director of Bureau: Secretary for Development Question: What were the numbers of reports of fresh water main bursts and salt water main bursts in various districts that the Water Supplies Department received in each of the past 3 years? What was the quantity of fresh water wasted each year? What is the progress of Government’s Replacement and Rehabilitation Programme for water mains? Asked by: Hon CHAN Hak-kan (Member Question No. (LegCo use): 50) Reply: The numbers of water main burst cases in 2015, 2016 and 2017 by districts are tabulated below – Fresh Water Salt Water District 2015 2016 2017 2015 2016 2017 Central & Western 4 3 3 3 0 2 Eastern 2 7 6 4 4 6 Islands 3 9 2 0 0 0 Southern 2 3 1 1 1 1 Wan Chai 0 2 6 1 1 2 Kowloon City 9 7 1 16 11 4 Kwun Tong 2 2 0 4 7 6 Sham Shui Po 2 1 2 3 3 1 Wong Tai Sin 2 0 0 4 0 2 Yau Tsim Mong 5 4 1 12 3 3 North 7 1 0 0 1 0 Sai Kung 4 2 1 2 4 2 Sha Tin 6 5 2 2 1 4 Tai Po 3 2 1 12 6 2 S e s s i o n 1 7 D E V B ( W ) - P a g e 2 0 8 Kwai Tsing 8 3 5 6 7 9 Tuen Mun 3 2 0 4 0 6 Tsuen Wan 1 3 2 2 3 2 Yuen Long 6 8 3 0 0 0 Total 69 64 36 76 52 52 The amount of water drained away due to fresh water main bursts was less than 0.01% of the total fresh water supplied. The programme of replacement and rehabilitation of about 3 000 km water mains was implemented in stages starting from 2000. All stages of the programme were substantially completed by end 2015. The outstanding works remaining include some connections of the newly replaced/rehabilitated water mains to the customers and a few sections of mainlaying works with difficult site conditions due to heavy traffic, congested underground utilities or noise restriction. They are anticipated to be completed within 2018. - End - S e s s i o n 1 7 D E V B ( W ) - P a g e 2 0 9 Examination of Estimates of Expenditure 2018-19 Reply Serial No. DEVB(W)102 CONTROLLING OFFICER’S REPLY (Question Serial No. 0718) Head: (194) Water Supplies Department Subhead (No. & title): Not Specified Programme: (2) Water Quality Control Controlling Officer: Director of Water Supplies (C L WONG) Director of Bureau: Secretary for Development Question: The residues of treatment agents and disinfectants for drinking water may combine with the chemicals in water to form health-affecting chemical substances. In this regard, are regular tests conducted by the Water Supplies Department? Asked by: Hon CHAN Tanya (Member Question No. (LegCo use): 10) Reply: All raw water undergoes stringent treatment processes at the water treatment works in Hong Kong before being supplied to the customers. The Water Supplies Department (WSD) has implemented a comprehensive water quality monitoring programme by taking water samples from water treatment works, service reservoirs, distribution networks and consumers’ taps to monitor their water quality including the by-products formed from treatment chemicals and disinfectants to ensure the safety of the drinking water. According to the monitoring results, the quality of treated water supplied by WSD complies fully with the Hong Kong Drinking Water Standards, which currently adopt the guideline values/provisional guidelines values recommended by the World Health Organization’s Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality and the treated water is safe for consumption. - End - S e s s i o n 1 7 D E V B ( W ) - P a g e 2 1 0 Examination of Estimates of Expenditure 2018-19 Reply Serial No. DEVB(W)103 CONTROLLING OFFICER’S REPLY (Question Serial No. 0101) Head: (194) Water Supplies Department Subhead (No. & title): Not Specified Programme: (3) Customer Services Controlling Officer: Director of Water Supplies (C L WONG) Director of Bureau: Secretary for Development Question: What was the number of applications for meters in each of the past 4 years (i.e. from 2014 to 2017)? And, what was the respective number of applications made by the catering industry out of the total? What was the average, longest and shortest time needed respectively for handling applications for meters and completing installation of meters in each year of the same period? And, what were the respective figures for the catering industry? How many complaints about meters were received in each year of the same period? And, what was the respective number of complaints received from the catering industry? What were the respective expenditure and staffing required for processing meter applications for each of the said period and the estimated expenditure and staffing for 2018? Asked by: Hon CHEUNG Yu-yan, Tommy (Member Question No. (LegCo use): 33) Reply: The applications for water supply are mainly for new buildings and from various trades including the catering industry. The whole approval process of the applications for water supply generally involves vetting of plumbing proposals submitted by the applicants, checking of their pipes/fittings proposals and inspection of the completed plumbing works. The Water Supplies Department (WSD) does not readily have information on the time for handling individual processes of these applications, but we can capture the total processing time of the whole approval process, i.e. from first application for water supply to the final approval of the completed plumbing works. The total processing time includes not only the time S e s s i o n 1 7 D E V B ( W ) - P a g e 2 1 1 taken by WSD to process the application but also the time taken by the applicant for submission of plumbing proposal, revision(s) and supplementary information, and rectification of plumbing works not complying with the requirement. The numbers of applications for water supply, the total processing time, the numbers of staff and associated expenditures involved in processing the applications for new buildings and catering industry in the past four years from 2014 to 2017 are tabulated below. 2014 2015 2016 2017 New Catering New Catering New Catering New Catering Buildings Buildings Buildings Buildings Number of 2 510 379 2 224 305 1 871 136 1 303 291 applications # Average total 155 81 222 129 150 105 146 98 processing time of (12 – (11 – (15 – (15 – (26 – (37 – (15 – (35 – completed cases 797)^ 444)^ 647)^ 549)^ 325)^ 374)^ 307)^ 302)^ in calendar days Number of staff and associated expenditure 74 75 98 108 $25 million $27 million $39 million $45 million involved in processing the applications## # This represents the number of applications received in that year that have also obtained approval of the completed plumbing works. ## Applications from the catering industry are handled together with other applications by the same teams. There is no breakdown of the numbers of staff involved in handling applications from the catering industry. ^ The figures in bracket represent the range of the total processing time in calendar days. Among the above four years, the average total processing time of applications for water supply in 2015 is comparatively longer. This is mainly due to the implementation of various measures for enhancing drinking water safety in the wake of the excess lead-in-water incident in July 2015. The vetting of applications for water supply involved more procedures and the processing time was therefore lengthened. With a view to shortening the processing time of applications for water supply, the WSD has implemented various measures, including streamlining internal workflow and deploying as well as recruiting additional manpower to handle the applications. These measures have been proved to be effective. The WSD will continue to review and enhance these measures to further shorten the time needed to process applications for water supply. S e s s i o n 1 7 D E V B ( W ) - P a g e 2 1 2 In addition, the WSD has implemented a pilot scheme in November 2017 to enhance the processing of applications for water supply from the catering industry. As at January 2018, 126 applications have been received under the scheme and among which 20 applications have obtained approval of the completed plumbing works, with an average total processing time of 30 days. Preliminary results of the pilot scheme show that the processing time of applications by the catering industry for water supply can be substantially shortened which is welcomed by the plumbing industry. The WSD will continue to monitor the performance of the pilot scheme. If its effectiveness could sustain, the WSD is prepared to adopt such scheme as a standing arrangement. The numbers of complaints relating to water meters in 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 were 278, 225, 282 and 281 respectively. The complaints mainly concerned defective meter and wrong meter arrangement which had been duly followed up. We do not maintain separate complaint record for the catering industry. The expenditures associated with the processing of applications for water supply from 2014 to 2017 were shown in the above table and were mainly on staff costs. The estimated number of staff involved in handling applications for water supply in 2018 is 108 and the associated expenditure is $46 million.