ENG-2004 — Page 366

316 The Environment

Sewer connections to individual properties are still in progress. Improvements in several parts of the territory continue. Under the Water Pollution Control (Sewerage) Regulation, the EPD is empowered to direct house owners to connect their wastewater pipes to new public sewers. In 2004, public sewers were laid to serve a projected population of 14 000 people. Since the regulation came into force at the end of 1995, public sewers have been put in place to serve 126 000 people.

Sewage Charges

All water users who discharge their sewage to public sewers have to pay a basic sewage charge. Also, 30 trades and industries whose effluent strength well exceeds that of domestic sewage need to pay a trade effluent surcharge to reflect the additional cost of treating their stronger effluent. These charges aim to partially recover the operation and maintenance costs of sewage collection, treatment, and disposal facilities. The Government continues to provide funds for capital costs for these facilities from its Capital Works Reserve Fund. The household sewage charge in 2004 remained at a modest level of $1.20 per cubic metre of water consumed, with an exemption for the first 12 cubic metres consumed in a four-month billing period.

Livestock Waste Pollution

Indiscriminate disposal of waste from the livestock industry was formerly one of the main causes of pollution in streams and rivers in the New Territories. Before the livestock waste control scheme began in 1987, the pollution load from livestock waste equivalent to raw sewage from more than 1.6 million people

ended up

in Hong Kong's rivers and eventually the sea. Since 1988, the Waste Disposal Ordinance has banned livestock-keeping in new towns and environmentally sensitive areas. Where they are allowed, livestock farms must have proper waste treatment systems.

Under the control scheme, livestock farmers who chose to continue in business may apply for a grant and a loan to help pay for pollution-control facilities. Since the start of the scheme in 1987, about $63 million has been paid out in capital grants. Farmers who chose to cease business could apply for an allowance, and about $883 million has been paid. Livestock waste pollution has been reduced by 97 per cent since the inception of the control scheme.

The Government provides a free livestock waste collection service resulting in a monthly average of about 5 075 tonnes of livestock waste being collected in 2004.

Bathing Beaches

Bathing beaches are an important recreational resource. To protect the health of swimmers, the Government has adopted strict standards for water quality control at bathing beaches. These standards indicate the pollution level measured in terms of E.coli (the bacteria that can indicate the presence of sewage) and were devised after a thorough study of the health risk facing local bathers. The following table shows how beaches were classified in 2003 and 2004. Beaches in the 'good' and 'fair' categories meet the Government's water quality objective for bathing.