While the drinking water supplied by the Water Supplies Department (WSD) is safe for consumption, the water quality could be affected in the internal plumbing systems due to various factors, such as improper cleaning of water storage tank, stagnation of water or use of inappropriate plumbing materials. Since 2017, the WSD has been promoting implementation of the Water Safety Plan for Buildings (WSPB) by property owners and management agents to enhance drinking water safety in buildings based on a risk management and multi-barrier approach.
To facilitate property owners and management agents to implement the WSPB, the WSD has developed a set of guidelines and templates in accordance with the recommendations of the World Health Organisation (WHO). The recommendations encompass the identification of potential contamination risks in the internal plumbing systems and formulation of the corresponding control measures. The WHO welcomed the WSD’s actions which were considered effective in promoting a wider implementation of the WSPB. The WHO and the International Water Association have also uploaded these materials onto their websites for international reference.
While the Government spares no effort to take a lead in an implementation of the WSPB on their premises, the Hong Kong Housing Authority has also committed themselves to implementing the WSPB for all its 185 public rental housing estates in four years, starting from the fourth quarter of 2018, covering about 730,000 households or 28% of the total number of households in Hong Kong. In respect of the private sector, in the 2019 Policy Address the Chief Executive announced the Government’s plan to allocate HK$440 million to launch a Water Safety Plan Subsidy Scheme to encourage property owners and management agents to implement the WSPB on their premises. The scheme is open for application from 13 July 2020. It will provide subsidies to the property owners of eligible buildings to cover their expenses in connection with the first two cycles (a two-year period for each cycle) of the implementation of WSPB, including water safety risk assessment of the internal plumbing system of the building, formulation of WSPB, as well as the necessary maintenance works and measures for controlling the risks as identified by the water safety risk assessment. Through the provision of such financial assistances, it is hopeful to incentivise more property owners and management agents to take part in the WSPB implementation, appreciate the benefits of enhancing drinking water safety on their premises, and continue the good practices in the long run.
The article was contributed by the Water Supplies Department, the HKSAR Government.
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