Following is a question by the Hon Tommy Cheung and a written reply by the Secretary for Development, Mr Paul Chan, in the Legislative Council today (March 2):
Question:
I have learnt that due to the occurrence of incidents last year in which some of the drinking water samples taken from a number of public housing estates, private housing estates and schools were found to have a lead content exceeding the provisional guideline value set by the World Health Organization (the lead incidents), large-scale replacement works of drinking water mains have to be carried out for the affected buildings. Moreover, in response to the lead incidents, the Water Supplies Department (WSD) has implemented a number of new measures to enhance the control of inside service. For example, licensed plumbers must submit to the Water Authority (WA) supporting documents of the lead free grade soldering materials to be used before they may use soldering for connecting copper pipes. The aforesaid situations have significantly increased the workload of licensed plumbers, resulting in a shortage of licensed plumbers. Besides, eateries must make a report to and obtain approval from the WSD before they may construct, install, alter or remove an inside service or fire service (waterworks). However, as the exchange of correspondence between eateries and the WSD takes time, the applications for waterworks from many eateries have not yet been approved after a long time. As it is difficult for those eateries to operate with no or insufficient supply of drinking water, they have suffered substantial financial losses. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) between the onset of the lead incidents in July 2015 and January this year, (i) of the number of applications for carrying out waterworks received by the WSD from eateries, (ii) the average processing time (i.e. from the receipt of an application to the granting of approval by the WA) for those approved among such applications, and (iii) how these two figures compare to the relevant figures of the previous year;
(2) whether the WSD will deploy additional manpower or outsource the work involved in the vetting and approval of applications to expedite the processing of applications submitted by eateries for carrying out waterworks; if the WSD will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(3) given that in order to reduce the possible business impact arising from the aforesaid enhanced control measures, the WSD has introduced transitional arrangements (including the arrangement under which the WA will consider granting permission for commencement of plumbing works where some of the pipes and fittings need to be reported but have not yet obtained the WA's general acceptance, provided that the licensed plumber undertakes to provide valid general acceptance before final inspection), and the effective period of these arrangements will end on April 1 this year, whether the authorities will consider extending the effective period of such arrangements; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
The Government has always attached great importance to the incident of excess lead in drinking water in public rental housing estates (PRHs). To protect the safety of drinking water for the general public, the Housing Authority has undertaken to replace non-compliant pipes in the affected PRHs in phases. The Water Supplies Department (WSD) has also rolled out various related measures to step up control of plumbing works for inside services. For instance, it has made reference to the approval mechanism of the United Kingdom's Water Regulations Advisory Scheme for pipes and fittings and set a five-year validity period for the approved pipes and fittings in order to step up control on the installation or use of these items. Four new parameters for heavy metals (including lead) have also been added to the tests of water samples on notification of completion of works. Moreover, licensed plumbers are required to submit to the Water Authority (WA) supporting documents of lead free grade soldering materials if soldering is used in connecting copper pipes in plumbing works. When inspecting new plumbing works, the WA requires non-destructive tests to be conducted on solder joints to check for the presence of lead.
As regards schools, the Education Bureau (EDB) in conjunction with the Architectural Services Department and the WSD completed the water sampling tests for the public sector and Direct Subsidy Scheme schools built with public funding and completed in 2005 or after as well as all kindergartens in the territory in November 2015. A total of 2 223 water samples were collected and tested. All water samples were found to be compliant with the World Health Organization standard for lead, except seven water samples from the inside service of a secondary school, two water samples from the wall-mounted dispensers of two secondary schools and ten water samples from the wall-mounted dispensers of eight kindergartens. For the secondary school with excess lead in samples taken from its inside service, the EDB has immediately installed filters certified for lead reduction and arranged works for replacement of potable water pipes. The other two secondary schools and eight kindergartens have also immediately stopped using the problematic wall-mounted dispensers. The EDB has also forwarded the WSD's recommendations and publicity leaflets on the purchase and use of wall-mounted dispensers to all schools in the territory for reference.
The WSD has maintained communication with the relevant stakeholders. Before introducing new measures, the WSD would consult the plumbing trade and implement discretionary initiatives or transitional arrangements as required on a case-by-case basis. For instance, the WSD has increased the number of accredited laboratories from four to 15 to meet the trade's demand for tests for the pipes and fittings that require re-tests upon the expiry of their validity period for general acceptance. To support the implementation of new measures and mitigate their impact on the approval process of plumbing works, the WSD has also redeployed and added staff for processing work and refined the processing procedures. Furthermore, the WSD has put in place transitional arrangements in the light of the actual circumstances. For instance, the supply systems of non-drinking water are allowed to continue to use those pipes and fittings for which the five-year validity period for general acceptance has expired.
To facilitate the smooth implementation of the new measures, a task group was established in November 2015 with a view to better understanding the concerns of the stakeholders and introduce timely and appropriate measures. The group is chaired by the Deputy Director of Water Supplies and comprises members broadly representative of the relevant trades. The WSD also attended meetings of the catering industry to brief them on the new measures and clarify their doubts.
Regarding the supply and demand of licensed plumbers in the market, there are 3 078 licensed plumbers as at the end of December 2015 according to our records. As advised by the industry, the new measures have not led to a shortfall of licensed plumbers.
My reply to the Hon Cheung's question is as follows:
(1) The Annex shows a comparison of the number of waterworks applications from eateries received after the onset of the lead in water incident and over the same period in 2014.
(2) We understand that the measures introduced in the wake of the lead in water incident would prolong the time needed to process waterworks applications. In this connection, the WSD has expanded the manpower complement by 30 per cent, amounting to 21 staff members through redeployment of existing staff and hiring more temporary contract staff in order to expedite the approval process. Furthermore, 15 civil service posts for processing waterworks applications will be created in the WSD (i.e. representing a 20-per cent increase as compared with the original staff complement) in the next financial year. The WSD will closely liaise with the trade and monitor the situation of the processing work. Further expansion of the staff complement and other measures may be considered as and when necessary.
(3) Subject to the overarching principle of safeguarding the safety of drinking water, the WSD has adopted the above-mentioned transitional arrangements in response to the demand from the trade. These measures also helped alleviate the pressure on them. According to our records, the WA has granted general acceptance for over 10 000 items of pipes and fittings. As advised by the trade, the market has an adequate supply and choice for the pipes and fittings that are reportable to the WA for use in waterworks. Moreover, the time taken by WSD in processing applications for works commencement is on a decreasing trend. For certain categories in particular, such as the catering industry, the processing work has returned to the position before the onset of the lead in water incident. As regards the transitional arrangements mentioned in part (3) of the question, the WSD will continue to maintain communication with the trade and review the need for extending the effective period of these arrangements in the light of the actual situation.
Attachment:
Ends/Wednesday, March 2, 2016
Issued at HKT 12:30
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