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The Environment
In support of the polluter-pays principle, in 2007 the government initiated a gradual increase in the sewage charges for handling domestic waste water over 10 years. The average monthly bill for domestic accounts will rise from $11 in 2007 to $27 eventually.
Water Quality
The harbour waters, once polluted by sewage from the surrounding older urban areas, have improved markedly since Stage 1 of the harbour scheme began in 2001. The dissolved oxygen level in the water has increased, while pollutants such as ammonia and faecal bacteria have decreased. With the commissioning of Stage 2A in 2015, sewage around the harbour is collected for centralised treatment, resulting in further improvement in water quality.
River quality has also improved, by controlling pollution at source. In 2016, 82 per cent of the rivers monitored fell in the 'good' and 'excellent' categories while 7 per cent belonged to the 'bad' and 'very bad' categories. No river fell into the 'very bad' category.
There are 10 water control zones, all subject to marine water quality objectives under the Water Pollution Control Ordinance. The government is considering preliminary proposals to revise these objectives.
Bathing Beaches
Strict standards apply in controlling the water quality at bathing beaches. The pollution level is measured in terms of Escherichia coli, the bacterium that can indicate the presence of sewage. Beaches in the 'good' and 'fair' categories in the following table meet the government's water quality objective for bathing, and all did in 2016.
Beach water quality ranking
Geometric mean of
E coli count per 100ml of beach water during bathing season
Up to 24
Cases of minor health risk per 1,000 swimmers
Undetectable
Number of beaches
in 2016
Good
18
Fair
25 to 180
10 or less
23
Poor
181 to 610
11 to 15
0
More than 610
More than 15
0
Very Poor
Gradings of the water quality at open beaches are available on the EPD's website and hotline as well as through weekly press releases.
Legislation and Environmental Protection
Ten ordinances address environmental protection: the Waste Disposal Ordinance, Water Pollution Control Ordinance, Air Pollution Control Ordinance, Noise Control Ordinance, Ozone
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