LCSD urged to dispense with drink fountains

Authorities should replace water dispensers in public sports grounds post-haste as they present a higher contamination risk, Director of Audit John Chu Nai-cheung said in his latest report.

As of November, a total of 99 dispensers were in operation at 25 sports grounds under the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, the report said.

Of the 99, four are of the bottle-filler type (Type A), 55 are the bubbler type for on-the-spot drinking (Type B), and the rest can do both of the above functions (Type C).

Type A dispensers are the most preferable as they address the concerns about contamination in the case of bubblers, the report said.

Eight of the 25 sports grounds offered only Type B dispensers.

Due to the pandemic, the use of water dispensers in all LCSD sports grounds have been suspended since January 29, 2020.

"In light of concerns over bubbler contamination amid the Covid-19 epidemic, the LCSD should consider stepping up the replacement of Type B dispensers with Type A ones as far as practicable, or by new Type C water dispensers if the risk of bubbler contamination can be mitigated," Chu said.

The report also said the LCSD has to properly handle cancellations of bookings in accordance with guidelines as hirers who failed to show up did not provide written justifications.

LCSD grounds generally open every day from early morning to evening, unless they are closed for renovations, maintenance and in adverse weather.

Of the 150 cases audited, 18 involved cancellations and four were no-shows.

"The timely release of facilities with canceled bookings for public use or rebooking enables effective use of sports facilities," Chu said.

The report also stated that "issuing default notices with the suspension of further booking may deter hirers from canceling bookings without justifiable reasons".

The commission said the LCSD needs to take measures to ensure compliance by hirers with 20 days' advance notification requirement on cancellation of bookings for using sports grounds and in-field turf pitches.

The LCSD needs to remind staff to request written justifications in case of booking cancellation and no-shows as appropriate, maintain proper records on the acceptance or otherwise of the justifications, and issue default notices when necessary, noted the report.

The average usage rate of sports grounds each year was 99 percent and exceeded the target of 95 percent from 2016 to 2020.

The report noted that the average usage rate of sports grounds did not reflect their main function, which was to provide venues for educational institutions and other relevant organizations to hold athletic events.

In calculating the average usage rate of sports grounds, the LCSD did not take into consideration the actual number of joggers and the capacity of the running tracks.

The LCSD also did not require staff of sports grounds to compile statistics on the number of joggers.

The report indicated the LCSD runs 25 sports grounds and operational and management costs are about HK$213 million in 2020/21.