HK’s water supply plans decades behind Singapore’s

[GeoTommy]

'HK's water supply plans decades behind Singapore' - RTHK

Singapore already has five treatment plants which use reverse osmosis technology to turn sewage into drinking water. They also have three desalination plants, and two more will be coming on stream in the next two years.

Tam says over the long-term, he hopes Hong Kong's own water supply facilities can meet up to 80% of local demand, a target also set by Singapore.

He also said more should be done to stop the leakage rate of the city's pipes, which stands at around 15 percent, compared with 5 percent in Singapore.

[orel100x]

Hard to compete with Singapore on almost anything infrastructure related...

I wonder if HK needs the same levels of desalination?

[Plutark]

let me fix the title, it should read:

"HK decades behind in everything versus Singapore"

[GeoTommy]

"HK decades behind in everything versus Singapore"

Not the MTR

[freeier]

Not the MTR

for that matter, the MTR is also the public service that is attacked the most by the democrats and apple daily..

[shri]

for that matter, the MTR is also the public service that is attacked the most by the democrats and apple daily..

Is it the public service or their construction oversight that is being attacked.

[freeier]

Is it the public service or their construction oversight that is being attacked.

you know... heard from the construction industry ground, MTR is probably the most stringent party in construction control and safety in the whole of hk.
so what that means is that construction lapse actually happens in hk all the time. and because the structures are designed with so conservative over-buffers generally those lapse falls within the allowance for safety

so if we are worried of the oversight in hung hom and etc.. i think we should be more worried everywhere else in hk.

but that's hearsay. do your own DD.

[shri]

Aiya, my Q was simple - what is being attacked every day. The service levels of the trains etc are world class and far better than Singapore / London / NYC / Chicago L. MTR is really not a concern for me.

Anyways... lets go back to praising Singapore.

[freeier]

Aiya, my Q was simple - what is being attacked every day. The service levels of the trains etc are world class and far better than Singapore / London / NYC / Chicago L. MTR is really not a concern for me.

Anyways... lets go back to praising Singapore.

anyway if we are talking about water.. from day -5 (independence day minus maybe 5years) the guys that are expected to be in charge of singapore was already wary of water security in singapore. for the last 50 years singapore has been working on very hard to ensure water self sufficiency.. that includes not just water technology but also tonnes of others that i wldn't mention here.

however, i kind of think there is something Singapore didn't plan properly.. i.e. Energy.
all the water treatment facilities in singapore requires energy but singapore does not have energy self sufficiency. so technically even though water capacity can be achieved the energy required to produce the water might not be there.


Hk has a huge hinterland supporting the water usage.. if HK goes into water treatment and desalination, these are the issues:
- again, energy self sufficiency is lacking
- and it seems to point towards a position where HK wants to be independent from the mainland.

that's something i don't see the SAR government pursuing.

[JAherbert]

Hk has a huge hinterland supporting the water usage.. if HK goes into water treatment and desalination, these are the issues:
- again, energy self sufficiency is lacking
- and it seems to point towards a position where HK wants to be independent from the mainland.
that's something i don't see the SAR government pursuing.

HK govt. is oblivious, the our water comes from from Dongjaing river and shared with millions of others across south china, which happens to cover a huge and fast-growing population, growing far faster than HK. What is left will trickle into HK.

Energy is not a real the issue, power plants throw away energy that could otherwise be used for water treatment, new coastal power plants including sea water treatment because the energy component is almost free.

I do agree HK government dare not pursue such a policy, although WSD is building a tiny desalination plant. Over the next 20 to 30 years, all the water in south China will be used inside south China except for the political will of BJ to supply HK, but in the event of any damage to the pipes crossing the border, then HK is on its own, with rainwater only able to provide 20% of the demand.