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Odour from nullah at Tsui Ping Road
Following is a question by the Hon Fred Li Wah-ming and a reply by the Secretary for Planning, Environment and Lands, Mr Tony Eason, in the Legislative Council today (Wednesday):
Question:
Regarding the unpleasant smell emitted constantly from the surface nullah in Tsui Ping Road in Kwun Tong which has caused a serious nuisance to workers working in factories nearby as well as the residents of Laguna City, will the Government inform this Council:
(a)
(b)
whether there is any plan to cover up the nullah; if so, what the details are; if not, why not; and
what short-term measures are in place to improve the present condition of the smelly nullah?
Reply:
Mr President,
(a)
There is currently no plan to deck the nullah which is designed to convey stormwater to the sea, and is not meant for polluted wastewater. Decking the nullah would not eradicate the odour problem. The only effective solutions are to control the pollution at source and to divert the wastewater discharges away from the nullah and into foul sewers. The odour from the nullah at Tsui Ping Road arises mainly from domestic and commercial wastewater discharges from Sau Mau Ping and Tsui Ping Estates, which are brought to the nullah through expedient connection of foul sewage. There are also discharges of industrial effluents from Kwun Tong industrial area into that part of the nullah which is adjacent to the Laguna City. The Tsui Ping Road nullah, like other open nullahs, is an essential hydraulic structure for discharging stormwater during rainstorms. Regular inspection and desilting can be conducted more effectively and economically in an open nullah than in a decked nullah. Decking an open nullah is a costly civil engineering exercise which makes it difficult to enter the nullahs and carry out desilting work with mobile plant. More importantly decking could make the situation worse because it will lead to the retention of hydrogen sulphide, the main cause of the bad odour and a gas which is potentially dangerous to the public and maintenance staff, and corrosive to the structure. Also, in busy urban areas, decking nullahs involves much disturbance to the neighbourhood.