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Ma On Shan water supply contamination caused by error of sub-contractor
Following is a question by the Hon Choy Kan-pui and a written reply by the Secretary for Housing, Mr Dominic Wong, in the Legislative Council today (Wednesday):
Question:
Regarding the incident concerning the fresh water supply in two newly occupied estates in Ma On Shan a public housing estate and a Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) estate becoming salty several days ago, does the Government know:
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(a) which departments should be responsible for the above incident, and whether the residents and shop owners who have suffered losses or injuries as a result of the incident will be compensated; and
(b)
Answer:
Mr President,
of the total number of cases involving fresh water supply problems in public housing estates and HOS estates of the Housing Authority in the past three years, the classification of such cases, and whether there are any of such cases for which the Government should bear responsibility?
The Housing Department has completed an investigation into the water contamination incident which occurred on 1 March 1997 in a public housing estate and a subsidised home ownership estate in Ma On Shan. The investigation report has been submitted to the Chairman of the Housing Authority, and the findings have been released publicly. The Building Committee of the Housing Authority will examine the report, decide on appropriate follow-up action and recommend whether any disciplinary action should be taken against the contractor or other parties involved.
The report confirmed that the incident was caused by an error made by a sub- contractor in connecting the fresh water and salt water mains on a construction site of the Housing Authority. The main contractor has undertaken to examine all claims by residents for compensation arising from the incident.
There were 1,777 cases of fresh water supply problems in public rental housing and subsidised home ownership estates in the past three years. The breakdowns were due to equipment or pipe failure, electricity supply failure, shutdown of water supply by the Water Supplies Department and vandalism. None of these cases showed negligence on the part of the Government. Apart from the incident on 1 March, there were no other cases of fresh water supply being contaminated by salt water supply,
End