THE ENVIRONMENT
Construction noise is also a particular concern for residents
for residents living near redevelopment or new development sites.
Water pollution has also increased with urban development. The lack of proper treatment for the majority of flows in the main urban area around Victoria Harbour has resulted in poor water quality there. The average concentration of sewage bacteria (E. coli) in the central harbour in 1997 was about 12 000/100ml, little better than diluted effluent from a sewage treatment plant. This is a health hazard to any one who comes into contact with it often.
Through the provision of a new sewerage system, some progress is being made in tackling the problem. Greater progress has been made by focusing on pollution sources around beaches where small private sewage treatment facilities often dominate. A combination of effective control and priority provision of new sewerage has reversed a recent declining trend in the water quality at beaches.
The Environment of Rural Areas and New Towns
Many waterways in the New Territories are still severely polluted. Some rivers in the Deep Bay catchment remain little better than open sewers. They lack normal aquatic life and their pollution can be harmful to people coming into direct contact with them. Such streams are a serious public health hazard where they pass through villages and new towns. However, pollution control measures are now having a positive effect on the watercourses, and their quality is slowly improving. The percentage of rivers in the 'good' and 'excellent' categories improved from 27 per cent in 1986 to 60 per cent in 1996, and the percentage in the 'bad' and 'very bad' categories fell from 52 per cent in 1986 to 23 per cent in 1996.
Bathing beaches are an important recreational resource. To safeguard the public against swimming in polluted waters, the government has adopted strict standards for water quality control in bathing beaches. These standards relate to the degree of faecal pollution measured as E. coli (bacteria that can indicate the presence of sewage) and were devised after a very thorough study of the health risk facing local bathers. The following table shows how beaches were classified in 1996 and 1997. Beaches in the 'good' and 'fair' categories meet the government's water quality objective for bathing.
Annual
beach rank
Bathing season geometric Health risk cases per mean of E. coli count per 1 000 swimmers 100 ml of beach water
Number of beaches
1996
1997
Good
up to 24
Undetectable
13
10
Fair
25 to 180
10 or less
14
16
Poor
181 to 610
11 to 15
10
12
Very poor
More than 610
More than 15
4
3
358