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Lo Hoi-ying

Hong Kong authorities’ hands are tied when it comes to tackling the “ticking time bomb” of the city’s ageing water pipes due to a lack of resources and resistance to disruptions caused by replacement works, experts have said.
Experts and lawmakers said the city’s high population density and ageing pipes had caused frequent water main bursts at housing estates in the New Territories in recent months, with incidents in Tuen Mun, Tseung Kwan O and Sha Tin as much of their infrastructure hits the 50-year mark.
Between 2000 and 2015, the Water Supplies Department conducted a replacement and repair programme for 3,000km (1,864 miles) of the city’s 5,700km fresh and salt water mains, targeting pipes that were about 50 years old.
The works cost HK$23.6 billion at the time, with the number of water main ruptures dropping significantly from more than 2,500 in 2000 to 27 in 2024.
While the number of ruptures has dropped, government data showed the average leakage rate for public housing estates and select private buildings increased from 10.3 per cent in 2022 to 11.6 per cent in 2024.
The rate compares the sum of the volume of water consumed by all meters in a building against a master meter reading.
The department said its goal was to reduce the leakage rate to 10 per cent or below by 2030 through the digitalisation of services and the expansion of its “water intelligent network” to monitor flow and pressure.
Wong King, executive president of the International Institute of Utility Specialists, said that about 100km to 150km of water pipes, which had been in use for 75 years, were not replaced during the department’s 15-year repair programme because the infrastructure was located under major roads or traffic junctions.
“They have become ticking time bombs now,” he said.

Ageing pipes have also been blamed after residents at two public housing estates found black particles in their drinking water, which authorities later confirmed were bitumen. In response, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu ordered authorities to first replace 400 metres (437 yards) of pipes lined with the substance that were linked to the case, among other measures.
Lawmaker Holden Chow Ho-ding, who represents the New Territories North West, said another batch of the city’s pipes that had not been repaired or replaced under the scheme had further aged and was showing signs of deterioration.
Over the past month, three water main ruptures occurred in Tuen Mun, including an incident involving a 47-year-old pipe under Tuen Mun Road that disrupted traffic for about nine hours.
Chow said that more than 200,000 residents in at least 23 housing estates were also affected when authorities cut off their water supply for more than seven hours as part of the repair works.
Later in May, a salt and freshwater pipe under Sam Shing Street, which is part of the same district, started leaking and affected nearby housing estates and restaurants.
Aaron Bok Kwok-ming, a former president of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers, said that compared with other cities, Hong Kong had high water supply pressure due to its hilly topography and congested urban areas.
“Hong Kong’s water pipes bear six to eight bars of pressure because our residential buildings go up to 50 storeys tall and have high usage during the nighttime,” he said.
“Although the water mains are made to last about 50 years, being constantly under high pressure can shorten their lifespan.”
Due to the urban density, water pipes were located underground alongside electricity cables, gas pipes and other infrastructure, he added.
“When workers dig up the ground to do repair work, they might accidentally damage the water pipe. It might not be apparent then, but the pipe will start leaking over time,” Bok said.
Director of Water Supplies Roger Wong Yan-lok said the department had started installing sensors to monitor changes in pressure, which is a sign of leakage, and aimed to complete the process by 2027.
Engineer Wong King said the reality was that the department was in a “passive position”.
“Of course, it is ideal to do preventive maintenance. But many parties might not agree to repair works because of the inconvenience it would cause,” he said.
“Something that should be actively maintained can only be passively fixed after the water mains burst.”

Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn Hon-ho said anticipated disruptions to traffic were a key hurdle for repair and replacement works.
“Only one lane on Tuen Mun Road was closed off during the water main burst, and that already caused a huge jam. Imagine the disruption if we blocked off the whole road for months to do repair works,” she said on Wednesday.
Linn has instructed the department to identify high-risk water mains and submit plans to the Development Bureau so that it could allocate resources and present a paper to the Legislative Council’s development panel by July.
The panel is expected to discuss how to mitigate the impacts of the repair works.
“We have asked the department to calculate how quickly they can install all of these sensors, assuming resources are not an issue,” she said.
Lawmaker Kitson Yang Wing-kit said large-scale works were needed.
“For Tuen Mun Road, new pipes can be laid adjacent and then connected with the old network under the road, reducing the time and impact,” he said.
“These new pipes would be made of better material and be further from the main road, so future repair works would also not affect traffic.”

But Wong King said that the city’s budget deficit was an issue for the department.
“It has to submit a paper to Legco, which involves asking for a huge sum of money. It is unlikely that its proposal will be approved in this term,” he said.
Bok said more resources should be allocated to critical infrastructure, while encouraging residents to understand that “short-term pain is better than long-term pain”.
Chow agreed that better communication from authorities would help.
“There needs to be a pay-off, but it cannot be helped as it is what needs to be done,” he said.
“If the ruptures are bound to happen, even if pre-emptive repair works are disruptive, at least residents can plan ahead instead of being caught off guard.”


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Hong Kong society

Why is Hong Kong slow to tackle ‘ticking time bomb’ of ageing water pipes?

Hong Kong’s waterpipe infrastructure is under pressure from the city’s high population density. Photo: May Tse

Workers repair a 47-year-old water pipe in Tuen Mun that caused a service suspension and disrupted traffic for nine hours last month. Photo: Handout

Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn has said anticipated disruptions to traffic are a key hurdle to potential repair and replacement works. Photo: Jonathan Wong

An engineer has said the city’s budget deficit woes mean authorities have fewer resources to replace or repair ageing pipes. Photo: Eugene Lee

Hong Kong leader orders ageing water pipes lined with bitumen to be replaced

Staff from the Housing Department and Water Supplies Department visit Queens Hill Estate and Shan Lai Court. Photo: handout

Authorities say the bitumen is believed to have come from a 400-metre-long steel water pipe laid in an area, 2.6km away from the Queens Hill Estate. Photo: Dickson Lee

Hong Kong lawmakers demand infrastructure checks after burst water pipe chaos

The leakage first came to light on Monday night. Authorities later located the seepage under the slow lane of Tuen Mun Road, prompting the road closure on Tuesday. Photo: Handout

Hong Kong authorities say the emergency pipe repair works on Yuen Long-bound lanes on Tuen Mun Road were completed at 3am on Wednesday. Photo: Handout

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Hong Kong

Society

Experts, lawmakers say high population density and ageing pipes have led to frequent water main bursts at housing estates


Experts, lawmakers say high population density and ageing pipes have led to frequent water main bursts at housing estates.


Hong Kong water supply

Infrastructure

Why is Hong Kong slow to tackle ‘ticking time bomb’ of ageing water pipes?

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Experts, lawmakers say high population density and ageing pipes have led to frequent water main bursts at housing estates

Experts, lawmakers say high population density and ageing pipes have led to frequent water main bursts at housing estates