Question "LCQ16: Water seepage in residential premises" by the Hon Albert Chan and a written reply by the Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands, Mr Michael Suen, in the Legislative Council

Following is a question by the Hon Albert Chan and a written reply by the Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands, Mr Michael Suen, in the Legislative Council today (November 5):

Question:

I have received many complaints from members of the public about the water seepage on the walls or ceilings of their residential premises but, despite repeated complaints made to and assistance requested from the Water Supplies Department, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department and the Buildings Department, the situation has not improved. Such seepage has adversely affected the living environment of the complainants. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:

(a) the respective numbers of complaints about seepage on residential premises received by the above-mentioned departments over the past three years, and the number of such cases referred to other departments for follow-up action;

(b) the number of cases mentioned in (a) above in which the causes of seepage were found and whether the Administration has assisted the complainants in solving the problems; if not, of the reasons for that; and

(c) the measures the Administration has in place to help residents solve the problems of seepage in residential premises?

Reply:

Madam President,

Water seepage in buildings is basically an issue of property management and maintenance. Generally speaking, building owners should seek professional assistance in submitting an investigation report to identify the source of seepage and resolve the problem with those who have caused it. Upon receipt of a complaint about water seepage in private buildings, the relevant authorities will check whether the seepage has led to problems of public hygiene, structural safety of the building and water wastage, and deal with the case in accordance with their statutory powers.

Replies to the three parts of the question are as follows.

(a) According to existing procedures, a complaint about water seepage in buildings will first be referred to the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD), which will conduct an initial investigation and deal with any environmental hygiene nuisance. In the event that the initial investigation cannot ascertain the cause of seepage, FEHD will refer the case to the Water Supplies Department (WSD) or Buildings Department (BD) as appropriate for further investigation to ascertain if structural safety or water wastage is involved. Follow-up action will be taken where appropriate.

From January 2001 to September 2003, FEHD received a total of 28,238 complaints on water seepage. According to the above procedures, FEHD has referred 20,642 cases to WSD and BD for follow-up action.

(b) Technical difficulties are often encountered in seeking to identify the cause of seepage. This is because it usually involves the inspection of pipes concealed in floor slabs or other decorative fixtures inside the units of the building. One method that can be used in such cases is the colour dye test. After receiving a water seepage complaint, FEHD will try to find out the source of seepage by carrying out a colour dye test. For those 28,238 water seepage complaints received from January 2001 to September 2003, 996 cases were confirmed by colour dye test to have been caused by defective pipes. We do not keep overall statistics on the number of water seepage cases arising from other causes.

If the source of seepage is confirmed, the relevant authorities will follow up according to the circumstances. For example, when the seepage is caused by defective water pipes, FEHD will issue a notice under the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Cap. 132) requiring the person causing the seepage to repair the defective water pipes within a specified period of time. Generally speaking, the flat owners concerned should also cooperate with each other to resolve the problem.

(c) As pointed out above, water seepage in buildings is basically an issue of building management and maintenance. Thus, the Administration will, from time to time, promulgate the importance of building management and maintenance and remind owners of their responsibility for regular maintenance of water pipes, drainage pipes and waterproof membranes to guard against seepage. In addition, if the seepage has building safety or environmental hygiene nuisance implications, the authorities concerned will take appropriate enforcement actions, such as ordering the owners concerned to repair the defective pipes or building parts or ordering those concerned to rectify the environmental hygiene nuisance.

We are considering the setting up of a Joint Office of FEHD and BD to better co-ordinate the enforcement actions on seepage problems and expedite the relevant procedures.

Ends/Wednesday, November 5, 2003

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