With dry taps becoming a recurring reality among Hongkongers due to aging pipes, lawmakers are urging a complete overhaul of the city's replacement strategy.
The call follows two major fresh water main failures in a month, disrupting tens of thousands of nearby residents.
The latest leak occurred Tuesday night at a Tuen Mun construction site on Fu Fat Lane, about two weeks after a similar incident in Shau Kei Wan. Affected areas included Villa Tiara, Hin Fat Estate, Handsome Court, Alpine Garden, and Tuen Mun Government Secondary School.
Despite completing an overnight repair, the Water Supplies Department discovered a second leak on the same pipe, forcing another shutdown with restoration targeted by Thursday noon.
Speaking on a radio program this morning, lawmaker Holden Chow Ho-ding estimated the incident affected roughly 7,000 residents and urged authorities to follow up, even though the scale was smaller than last December's Tuen Mun disruption.
Chow noted that many past bursts have been linked to ongoing construction work, suggesting the aging mains in the neighborhood may have been disturbed. He urged the government to issue a full explanation of the cause as soon as possible.
While the government has accepted proposals to install smart sensing and pressure-monitoring systems, he said full implementation will take time.
Considering a large-scale pipe replacement plan for eastern Tuen Mun was scheduled earlier this year, he stressed that the key to minimizing disruption is a backup water supply system during the work to ensure alternative supply.
Addressing the earlier burst in Shau Kei Wan that affected over 10,000 households and businesses in the area, lawmaker Elaine Chik Kit-ling revealed she has reflected residents' concerns to Under Secretary for Development David Lam Chi-man and WSD representatives.
She added that she has urged authorities to reassess pipe replacement priorities based on risk evaluation, and to leverage AI or big data to assess pipe lifespan and burst risks, with department representatives responding positively.
With six months left to replace 22.1 kilometers of aged Eastern District mains, Chik called on authorities to conduct proactive pipe inspections over their lifespan to prevent bursts.
She also advised to accelerate upgrades to the Water Intelligent Network(WIN) to monitor gaps in older districts and improve backup water supply and diversion mechanisms.
