Hong Kong people have a great affection for their country parks. However, they may not realise their close relationship with local reservoirs and water gathering grounds. There may be a lack of understanding to the water supply system developed over the last century, despite its enormous scale and continued services served unnoticeably by the public. The WSD has taken the initiative in recent years to reach out to the public by sharing the history of water supply in Hong Kong, so the public can better appreciate the efforts of the WSD and its pioneering predecessors, as well as the importance of precious water resources. The WSD now regularly organises open days and guided tours at various waterworks facilities. There has also been great effort to produce promotional publications and reach out to the public through various social media platforms. The WSD also took the opportunity to address public concerns about the Ex-Sham Shui Po Service Reservoir incident by organising virtual and guided tours, which have now become popular with the public.
Ir LAW Wai-ho, Senior Engineer of the Public Relations Unit, has been involved in the WSD’s public relations work in the past few years. “I have worked with my colleagues to reach out to the public. Some retired colleagues also offered assistance and shared their experience during our large-scale publicity events. The public can learn more about the water supply profession through interacting with us and thus building both internal and external public relations,” he says.
Ir LAW says the WSD had been operating in the shadows and out of the public eye since its beginnings. The recent increase in public concern about water safety has led to a number of improvements to its monitoring systems. He added, “We have also stepped-up our outreach efforts by providing the public with information about water supply and conservation. The public guided tours and regular liaison with stakeholders have been implemented. By improving the transparency of information, the WSD aims to increase public confidence in its work.”
The WSD launched the "Excursion with Water Save Dave" visiting programme since 2019, which provides guided visits to waterworks facilities, including reservoirs and water treatment works. The guided tours cover three main themes:
(1) Our water resources and nature: visits to the two largest reservoirs, High Island Reservoir and Plover Cove Reservoir;
(2) Waterworks heritage trails: visits to the Tai Tam Waterworks Heritage Trail and the Kowloon Waterworks Heritage Trail; and
(3) Fresh water treatment and quality control: visits to three water treatment works at Ma On Shan, Ngau Tam Mei and Tai Po.
Rich in content, the guided visiting programme explains Hong Kong’s water resources and introduces the waterworks facilities. It also covers the history of water supply in Hong Kong and details of the water treatment processes. The programme promotes ecological conservation, enhances public confidence in water safety and improves the image of the WSD. Although the campaign was suspended due to the COVID pandemic, public interest in the programme remains unaffected. By the end of 2022, the WSD had organised over 300 guided tours with approximately 7,000 participants.
According to the event survey findings taken between 2019 to 2022, around 95% of tour participants had a positive view towards WSD. Many agreed that the programme had raised their awareness of personal attitudes to water conservation and of the importance of water conservation.
Ir LAW states that despite round-the-clock operations at waterworks facilities, regular openings are arranged for the public. To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in 2022, the WSD held a two-day open day at the Ma On Shan Water Treatment Works in early October to give the public an opportunity to understand the WSD’s work. During the event, various parts of the plant including the raw water inlet chamber, flocculation and sedimentation tanks, filter beds, sludge filter press and the central control room were shown to the public. The open day in 2022 attracted over 2,700 visitors.
The public may realise the WSD’s strong work culture while participation in our event upon colleageus’ willing to go the extra mile. "In preparation for this event, the WSD mobilised over 450 serving and retired staff to participate. Our colleagues are like a big family. Retired staff actively shared their work experience to their juniors, especially in the organisation of large-scale events requiring extensive planning. For instance, traffic arrangements for visitors, crowd control and safety at the water treatment works are tedious but crucial tasks that cannot be overlooked.” Ir LAW says.
The historic Ex-Sham Shui Po Service Reservoir has now been preserved due to concerns from various sectors of the community. The near-demolition of the reservoir’s buildings was a critical incident that revealed the true extent of the hidden waterworks’ heritage, which had rarely been seen by the public in the past. In response, the WSD addressed the incident and quickly compiled information about the historic structures by creating a 360-degree virtual tour of the service reservoir. This allowed the public to appreciate the interior of the building ahead of its necessary stabilisation and renovation work. To provide the public with an opportunity to view the service reservoir and offer advice on its long-term conservation plans, the WSD put together guided tours in a short period of time by completing accommodation facilities, a thematic website and a visitor enrolment system. The online registration for the guided tours was opened in mid-December 2021, gauged with demand reaching the allowable quotas promptly. Due to COVID restrictions, the WSD introduced self-guided tours in October 2022 for the public to visit the service reservoir by using an on-site audio-guide system. This greatly increased the opportunities for public’s visit.
"Although we had to address the public’s expectations in a very short time, the visit details were arranged with due care. For instance, we worked with colleagues to ascertain the participants’ ability to handle the uphill trail by climbing up over 300 stairs, and estimated it to be around a 15-minute walk at an average pace. This facilitated public to manage expectation and assess the situation.” Ir LAW explains. The roll-out of these new activities has been well received by the public, which he sees as a reward for his colleagues’ hard work.
In an era in which social media is closely intertwined with people’s daily lives, the WSD introduced a mascot named “Water Save Dave” in March 2016 to promote the importance of cherishing water resources and water conservation. The design of the mascot has undergone several changes over the years. The mascot made its debut at the Water Treatment Works Open Day in 1999. It was later showcased at the “Our 150 Years of Water Supply” celebration activities and given the name "Little Drop" by a primary school student. Little Drop later expanded to become a family of four and participated in the “Water Conservation Starts from Home” campaign. A special "Droplet" figure bearing the WSD badge was also later displayed at the Water Resources Education Centre in Mongkok. The “Sporty Droplet” was served as the mascot of the “Let’s Save 10 Litres of Water” campaign.
Now officially named Water Save Dave, the WSD’s mascot has been featured on social media and in various promotional publications to make campaigns more vivid and intimate. The number of followers on Water Save Dave's Facebook social media account has increased from around 21,000 in early 2020 to 36,000 by the end of 2022 in just three years. An Instagram account also opened in late 2021, which has gained over 3,000 followers by the end of 2022. In view of the rise in the number of followers, Ir LAW believes this confirms efforts to raise public awareness of the WSD’s work and its reputation as a reliable and safe water supplier.
The Evolution of Water Save Dave - the WSD Mascot
