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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 6. 1990

REPORTS ON MARINE AND RIVER WATER QUALITY RELEASED

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THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION DEPARTMENT TODAY (TUESDAY) ANNOUNCED THE DETAILS OF TWO REPORTS "MARINE WATER QUALITY IN HONG KONG 1989" AND "RIVER WATER QUALITY IN HONG KONG".

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THE REPORTS REVIEWED THE STATE OF WATER QUALITY IN THE INLAND AND COASTAL ENVIRONMENT OF HONG KONG AND SUMMARISED THE BENEFITS VARIOUS CONTROL MEASURES IMPLEMENTED BY THE GOVERNMENT IN 1988.

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SPEAKING AT A PRESS CONFERENCE, THE PRINCIPAL ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION OFFICER, MR PAUL HOLMES, SAID THE TWO REPORTS SHOWED THAT THERE WERE SOME SIGNS OF IMPROVEMENT IN WATER QUALITY BUT MUCH WORK STILL HAD TO BE DONE.

ACCORDING TO THE RIVER WATER QUALITY REPORT, THE WATER QUALITY OF SOME RIVERS AND STREAMS IN A FEW AREAS WAS BETTER THAN THAT IN RECENT YEARS. THE LAM TSUEN RIVER IN TAI PO, ONCE CONSIDERED ONE OF HONG KONG'S WORST, WAS NOW RATED "GOOD".

MR HOLMES SAID NEW TOWN DEVELOPMENT WITH PROPER SEWERAGE, THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE WATER POLLUTION CONTROL ORDINANCE AND LIVESTOCK WASTE CONTROL SCHEME HAD LED TO THIS IMPROVEMENT.

HOWEVER, TWO-THIRDS OF THE RIVERS AND STREAMS IN THE TERRITORIES WERE STILL BADLY CONTAMINATED BY ANIMAL WASTE DOMESTIC SEWAGE.

MR HOLMES EMPHASISED THAT A LOT MORE EFFORT WOULD BE NEEDED GET THE PROBLEMS UNDER CONTROL.

"WE MUST GET ON WITH OUR NEW SEWAGE DISPOSAL STRATEGY QUICKLY AND THIS INCLUDES IMPLEMENTING POLLUTION CONTROL LAWS AS AS BUILDING NEW SEWAGE DISPOSAL WORKS, HE SAID.

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AS FOR THE MARINE WATER QUALITY IN HONG KONG REPORT, HOLMES SAID THE RESULTS WERE DERIVED FROM THE DEPARTMENT'S WATER QUALITY MONITORING PROGRAMMES.

THE PROGRAMMES SHOWED THAT SEA WATER QUALITY IN HONG KONG REMAINED GENERALLY UNSATISFACTORY. THE WORST AREAS WERE STILL THE WELL KNOWN POLLUTION BLACK SPOTS SUCH AS INNER TOLO HARBOUR, PARTS OF VICTORIA HARBOUR AND DEEP BAY,

DOMESTIC AND INDUSTRIAL POLLUTION HAD CAUSED SEVERE LOSS OF OXYGEN FROM THE WATER, WITH THE DISSOLVED OXYGEN LEVEL WELL BELOW THE TARGET LEVEL AT MANY POINTS.

NEAR NORTHWEST KOWLOON, WHERE THE SEWAGE FROM 820,000 PEOPLE WAS DISCHARGED INTO VICTORIA HARBOUR, THE DISSOLVED OXYGEN LEVEL FELL TO AS LOW AS 16 PER CENT, COMPARED WITH THE TARGET LEVEL OF 50 PER CENT.

BACTERIAL POLLUTION

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