Fostering Water Conservation Culture

Making Water Conservation Count

“Let’s Save 10L Water” Campaign

The “Let’s Save 10 Litres Water” Campaign has received an enthusiastic response from the public. As of the end of March 2015, over 130,000 participating households have been provided complimentary flow controllers. In light of this success, we would like to extend our sincere thanks to all of the supporting personnel and organisations, including the District Council Members’ Offices, non-governmental organisations, trade and industrial groups, educational institutions, housing estates management offices, elderly centres and others who have joined hands with us in developing a water conservation culture in Hong Kong.

Promoting Water-efficient Appliances

In 2009, the Department began implementing the voluntary Water Efficiency Labelling (WELS) Scheme to encourage consumers to use appliances and equipment that conserve water. From the initial labelling of showers for bathing, the scheme has now expanded to include water taps, washing machines, urinal equipment and flow controllers. We will also commission a study in 2016 for extending the WELS coverage to include dual-flush water-closet.

The Department is formulating plan to implement mandatory use of water efficient products in new developments and existing buildings undergoing major renovation.

Retro-fitting Government Buildings, Schools and Public Housing Estates with Water-saving Devices

The Department has installed flow controllers on the taps and showers of about 24,000 households at 16 public housing estates. Water consumption statistics of these estates have shown that the flow controllers are effective in helping households reduce water consumption. Moreover, following completion of the first and second phases of retrofitting plumbing fixtures with water-saving devices in government buildings and schools, we have been proceeding with a third phase to install flow controllers in government buildings and schools not covered under the previous two phases.

Raising Public Awareness

Starting from Schools

Since January 2009, the WSD has been organising the “Water Conservation Starts from Home” promotional campaign and conducting roadshows, “School Water Audit” activities and guided tours to the temporary “Water Resources Education Centre” for primary schools to educate students about the scarcity of water resources, explain to them the history of Hong Kong’s water supply, and encourage them to apply water-saving practices. As of March 2015, 465 roadshows, 70 water audits and 733 guided tours were held with more than 140,000, 2,400 and 22,600 participants, respectively.

The “Water Conservation Ambassadors Selection Scheme” is the highlight activity of the promotional campaign that encourages youngsters to cherish water and to remind their classmates, family members and friends to participate in water conservation. The ambassadors are selected based on their achievement in conservation evaluated using the data submitted by the students, viz the number of household members and their domestic water consumption. Over 4,500 students from 35 primary schools have participated in this year’s scheme.

To further promote water conservation among youngsters and to the members of the public, the WSD launched the “Cherish Water Resources” Waterworks Installations Drawing Competition in 2013, with a secondary school category and open category. The competition encourages all participants to convey the concept of “Cherish Water Resources”, using Hong Kong‘s waterworks installations as the creative element to promote water conservation through an artistic medium. The Competition’s feedback was extremely positive with nearly 900 entries received for both categories. 60% of the entries were from the secondary school category, signifying that youngsters have become highly aware of the importance of water conservation. An award presentation ceremony was held in June 2014 at Youth Square in Chai Wan, and roving exhibitions featuring 53 winning entries and other selected entries were held from June to September 2014. Exhibition venues included: Youth Square, Tuen Mun Town Hall, Tsuen Wan Town Hall, Kowloon Park and Government Offices at various districts.

Water Supplies Seminar Photo

Public Lectures and Exhibitions

Since March 2013, the WSD has expanded its water conservation promotional efforts from schools to the wider community at large by organising the “Save Water • Cherish the World” roving exhibition at shopping malls and housing estates throughout Hong Kong. As of May 2014, 78 roving exhibitions were held, accounting for 607 exhibition days in total.

Apart from the “Save Water • Cherish the World” roving exhibition, the WSD also made use of a more accessible mobile exhibition platform – the “Save Water • Cherish the World” Mobile Showroom to strengthen the public’s awareness of water conservation through interactive and interesting exhibits. The first Mobile Showroom visited housing estates throughout Hong Kong Island and Kowloon districts from November 2013 to August 2014, while a second Mobile Showroom was sent to housing estates in the New Territories districts from April 2014 to February 2015. These two Mobile Showrooms have already visited a total of 200 housing estates.

Hotel and catering are two industries that operate on high water consumption. For this reason, the WSD fully supported the Advisory Committee on Water Resources and Quality of Water Supplies (ACRQWS) in organising the “Water Conservation Forum for Hotel and Catering Industries” at the Hong Kong Science Museum in November 2014 to provide a platform for industry practitioners to share their experiences and explore current best practices on water use management, water-saving measures as well as water-saving systems design and technology in order to promote a culture of water conservation in these industries.

Water Efficiency Review

We have completed water efficiency reviews and issued best water- use guidelines for government-managed swimming pools, parks, markets, toilets and refuse collection points. Water efficiency reviews for correctional institutions as well as for hotel and catering operations in the private sector are well underway and will be completed by the end of 2015. Our primary objective is to reduce overall water consumption. The review process gives us fact-based tools to formulate water-saving recommendations without having to compromise the overall level of services.

Preventing Illegal Water Use

The Department is responsible for administering the Waterworks Ordinance (WWO) and taking legal action against offenders. To this end, it is an offence under the WWO to draw water without metered except with the permission of the Water Authority. To help deter and combat any illegal use of water, the Department’s Prosecution Unit was strengthened in 2013 in order to enhance enforcement action. As a result, the number of surprise inspections in 2014 increased by about 74% to 1,235 cases compared to 2013. The number of convictions in 2014 also increased by about 41% to 113 cases. In terms of publicity, we have accelerated a number of education and information programmes on preventing the illegal use of water not only to Government officers within and outside the Department but also to the public during events such as Treatment Works Open Day and school tours, plus articles in Police Magazine, advertisements in MTR stations, and at seminars, notices on water bills and in newspaper reports. In 2014, we also set a new 85% performance target of initiating an investigation after receiving a complaint on suspected illegal use of water within one working day, and that target has been achieved.