ENG-1999 — Page 289

LAND, PUBLIC WORKS AND UTILITIES

In the NNT, the most critical flood mitigation project is the regulation of the Shenzhen River to improve the downstream outlets for a number of major rivers in the area, such as the River Indus and the River Beas. Stage I works have already been completed. Stage II works are scheduled for completion by end-2000. Planning and design for Stage III works are in hand, with construction scheduled to start in 2001 and be completed in 2005. Training works for the River Indus and the River Beas have also started. Upon completion of these river training works, the NNT will have a high level of flood protection.

In addition to the major river training works, village flood protection schemes are also implemented to protect particular low-lying villages that are at levels below the nearby drainage channels. The schemes provide an earth bund around the village to prevent flood water from entering, and water inside the village will be collected in a flood storage pond for pumping into the drainage channels outside the bund. The schemes for Sha Po Tsuen, San Tin and Chau Tau Villages were completed in end-1999. So far, 19 schemes have been completed.

In West Kowloon, the Stage I drainage improvement works to upgrade the critical sections of the drainage system are under way for completion by January 2003. The drainage improvement works at Nathan Road between Boundary Street and Prince Edward Road were completed in June, bringing partial relief to the flooding problem in the Mong Kok area.

To minimise the number and extent of road openings caused by the drainage improvement works in West Kowloon, an underground flood storage tank with a capacity of 150 000 cubic metres beneath the Tai Hang Tung Playground and a 1.8- kilometre stormwater transfer tunnel from Kowloon Tong to the Kai Tak Nullah are being planned.

The DSD has also commissioned seven Drainage Master Plan studies to review the condition and performance of the existing stormwater drainage systems in the flood- prone areas throughout the HKSAR. Both long-term and short-term measures to upgrade the systems to cope with the current and future development pressures will be devised. Six of these studies have been completed and the remaining one will be completed by mid-2000.

The department has set up a preventive maintenance programme to regularly inspect, desilt and repair the public stormwater drainage systems before and during the rainy seasons. This will ensure proper and effective draining of stormwater run-off.

More than 2 100 kilometres of watercourses, river channels and drains are maintained by the DSD. In 1999, more than 180 000 cubic metres of silt from the watercourses, river channels and drains were removed. The DSD operates a 24-hour drainage complaint hotline service to receive complaints on blocked drains as well as an Emergency and Storm Damage Organisation to ensure that emergency situations can be dealt with efficiently.

The department continues to carry out public education activities on flood prevention through combined roving exhibitions and video shows at popular shopping centres, distribution of promotional leaflets and pamphlets, and organising press site visits and conferences. The year marked the tenth anniversary of the department and an 'Outreach Programme' was launched in September. Under the

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