Minutes of the Tenth Meeting of
Central and Western District Council
Date / : / 6 July 2017 (Thursday)Time / : / 2:30 pm
Venue / : / Conference Room
14/F, Harbour Building
38 Pier Road, Central, Hong Kong
Present:
Chairman
Mr YIP Wing-shing, BBS, MH, JP*
Vice-chairman
Mr CHAN Hok-fung, MH, JP*
Members
Mr CHAN Chit-kwai, Stephen, BBS, JP / (2:37 pm – 7:51 pm)Mr CHAN Choi-hi, MH / (2:37 pm – 6:40 pm)
Mr CHAN Ho-lim, Joseph / (4:03 pm – 5:57 pm)
Ms CHENG Lai-king / (2:37 pm – 7:48 pm)
Mr CHEUNG Kwok-kwan, JP / (2:37 pm – 3:24 pm)
Mr HUI Chi-fung / (5:10 pm – end of the meeting)
Mr KAM Nai-wai, MH / (2:37 pm – 4:30 pm)
Mr LEE Chi-hang, Sidney, MH / (2:37 pm – 6:41 pm)
Miss LO Yee-hang, MH*
Mr NG Siu-hong*
Ms SIU Ka-yi*
Mr YEUNG Hoi-wing*
Mr YEUNG Hok-ming*
Remarks:*Members who attended the whole meeting
( ) Time of attendance of Members
Item 5Mr TONG Ka-hung, Edwin, JP / Director of Drainage Services
Mr LI Kwong-ho, John / Chief Engineer/Hong Kong and Islands, Drainage Services Department
Item 6(i)
Mr Michael MA / Executive Director (Commercial), Urban Renewal Authority
Mr WONG Chi-man / General Manager (Planning and Design), Urban Renewal Authority
Ms Katty LAW / Convenor, Central Western Concern Group
Mr CHEUNG Chiu-tun / Member,Sai Wan Concern
Dr LAI Wing-sze / Representative, Central Market Concern Group
Item 6(ii)
Mr WONG Chi-pan, Ricky / Chief Assistant Secretary (Works)2, Development Bureau
Ms LEE Hoi-lun, Leonie / Assistant Secretary (Heritage Conservation)3, Development Bureau
Mr CHU Ho, Larry / Assistant Secretary (Harbour)1, Development Bureau
Mr NG Tit-ho, Leo / Engineer/Central and Western 2, Transport Department
Mr CHAN Wai-kit, Edmond / Senior Estate Surveyor/Central and Harbourfront (District Lands Office, Hong Kong West and South), Lands Department
Mr CHAN Chi-wah, Brian / Senior Structural Engineer/Site Monitoring (B), Buildings Department
Mr John TANG / Head of Public Affairs, The Jockey Club CPS Limited
Ms Katty LAW / Convenor, Central Western Concern Group
Item 7
Ms LAU Yiu-yan, Joyce / Chief Engineer/Special Duties, Civil Engineering and Development Department
Mr CHAN Hing, Ken / Senior Engineer 14 (Special Duties Division), Civil Engineering and Development Department
Item 8
Mr CHU Ho, Larry / Acting Principal Assistant Secretary (Harbour), Development Bureau
Mr MOK Ying-kit, Peter / Project Manager (Harbour), Development Bureau
Ms CHAN Yuen-mei, Phoebe / Chief Town Planner/Special Duties 1, Planning Department
Ms LEONG Yee-tak, Yvonne / Senior Town Planner/Housing and Office Land Supply 1, Planning Department
Ms Katty LAW / Convenor, Central Western Concern Group
Item 9
Mr FUNG Chi-hung, Eric / Senior Telecommunications Engineer (Spectrum Planning)2, Office of the Communications Authority
Mr SIN Kwok-kei / Senior Telecommunications Engineer (Regulatory 12), Office of the Communications Authority
Mr YIP / Resident of Shek Tong Tsui
Item 10
Ms LAU Pui-yee, Ivy / Senior School Development Officer(CWS)3, Education Bureau
Item 11
Mrs WONG HO Wing-sze, Susanne, JP / District Officer (Central and Western)
Ms BOOK King-shun, Emma / Acting Senior Executive Officer (District Council), Central and Western District Office
Miss YIP Wing-yan, Sonia / Executive Officer (District Council)1, Central and Western District Office
In Attendance:
Mr SIN Chi-sing / Acting District Commander (Western District), Hong Kong Police Force
Mr LO Yee-shung / Police Community Relations Officer (Western District), Hong Kong Police Force
Mr MA Hon-wing / Chief Engineer/Hong Kong (1), Civil Engineering and Development Department
Mr LEE Tze-wah / District Environmental Hygiene Superintendent (Central and Western), Food and Environmental Hygiene Department
Ms LIM Ting-ting, Sylvia / District Leisure Manager (Central and Western), Leisure and Cultural Services Department
Mr HO Kwan-hang, Albert / Chief Transport Officer/Hong Kong, Transport Department
Mrs WONG HO Wing-sze, Susanne, JP / District Officer (Central and Western)
Mr MAN Chi-chiu, Eric / Acting Senior Executive Officer (District Management), Central and Western District Office
Secretary
Ms BOOK King-shun, Emma / Acting Senior Executive Officer (District Council), Central and Western District OfficeOpening Remarks
The Chairman welcomed all to the tenth meeting of the Central and Western District Council (C&WDC), in particularMr MA Hon-wing, Chief Engineer/Hong Kong (1) of the Civil Engineering and Development Department, and Mr SIN Chi-sing, Acting District Commander (Western District) and Mr LO Yee-shung, Police Community Relations Officer (Western District) of the Hong Kong Police Force, who attended the meeting for the first time. The Chairman said that as there were quite a large number of agenda items for consideration at the meeting, it was proposed that the time for each speaking by a Member be limited to two minutes to facilitate effective discussion. Second round follow-up questions and comments by Members would be subject to the availability of time. He sought Members’ co-operationin this regard, and reminded Members to declare interests as necessary and appropriate.
Item 1: Adoption of the Agenda
(2:37 pm – 2:38 pm)
2.There being no comment from Members, the Chairman declared the adoption of the agenda.
Item 2: Confirmation of the Minutes of the 9th C&WDC Meeting held on 18 May 2017
(2:38 pm – 2:39 pm)
3.The Chairman said that the Secretariat had sent the draft minutes of the ninth C&WDC meeting to Members on 4 July by e-mail. Members had no comments on the draft of the amended minutes and the Chairman declared that the minutes were confirmed.
Item 3: Action Checklist on Matters Arising from the NinthMeeting
(C&W DC Paper No. 60/2017)
(2:39 pm)
4.The Chairman asked Members to refer to the checklist for the progress of follow-up of different items.
Item 4: Chairman’s Report
(2:39 pm)
5.On behalf of the C&WDC, the Chairman congratulated Mr CHAN Hok-fung for being appointed as Justice of Peace (JP) on 30 June 2017, and congratulated Miss LO Yee-hangforbeing awarded the Medal of Honour (MH) on 1 July 2017.
Item 5: Meeting the Director of Drainage Services
(C&W DC Paper No. 75/2017)
(2:39 pm – 3:31 pm)
6.The Chairman welcomed Mr TONG Ka-hung, Director of Drainage Services (D of DS), and Mr LI Kwong-ho, Chief Engineer/Hong Kong and Islands of the Drainage Services Department (DSD) to the meeting.
7.The Chairman said that the DSD had provided an information paper on the department’s work in the Central and Western District, and Members were invited to note the paper. He invited D of DS to brief Members on the DSD’s work.
8.D of DS said that the last time the DSD attended C&WDC’s meeting was in late July 2013. He wished to take this opportunity to brief Members on the progress of DSD’s work in the Central and Western District in the last four years and seek Members’ views. He introduced the background of the establishment of the DSD, and reported on the current establishement of and number of facilities managed by the DSD. In 2016-17, the recurrent expenditure of DSD’s day-to-day work in relation to the Central and Western District was about $33 million. On regular inspection and clearance of drains and sewers, drains of 106 kilometres(km) and 51 km in length were inspected and cleared respectively, and 130 km and 78 km of sewers were inspected and cleared respectively. Major facilities of the DSD in the Central and Western District included Central Preliminary Treatment Works, Central Sewage Pumping Station and the stormwater storage tank in Sheung Wan.
9.On flood prevention, D of DS said that the major flood prevention facilities of the DSD onwestern Hong Kong Island was the Hong Kong West Drainage Tunnel. The tunnel,at a construction cost of about $3.4 billion, was completed and commissioned in August 2012. Another key project was the Sheung Wan Stormwater Storage Scheme, which involved the construction of an underground storage tank and a pump house. At a construction cost of about $200 million, construction works for the scheme commenced in 2006 and was completed in 2009. The greening area above the storage tank was about 5700 square metres. The DSD also completed the Drainage Improvement in Northern Hong Kong Island in July 2014. D of DS said that climate change hadin recent years posed huge challenge to Hong Kong as well as the DSD, with moreRed/Black Rainstorm Warning Signals issued and higher rainfall concentration every time it rained as compared to the past. The DSD had completed the Drainage Master Plansin 12 districts a few years ago, which had been progressively reviewed. The review study for five districts had been completed with new measures introduced; andamong those underway was the Drainage Master Plan for Northern Hong Kong Island. D of DS said that the DSD completed the Drainage Master Plan Study for Northern Hong Kong Island in 1999 which recommended a series of drainage improvement works. These works had been progressively completed by 2014. The DSD commenced the review study of the Drainage Master Plan for Northern Hong Kong Island in May 2014, coveringareas including Central, Sheung Wan and Kennedy Town. A detailed review was underway. The study was expected for completion in 2018 at a cost of about $8 million.
10.D of DScontinued that another key area of work of the DSD was sewage collection, treatment and disposal. Stage 2A Sewage Conveyance System of The Harbour Area Treatment Scheme (HATS), the largest-ever environmental infrastructure project in Hong Kong, was completed in October 2015. Stage 1 Sewage Conveyance System was completed in 2001. The project cost of the two stages of works totalled $25.8 billion. The treatment capacity of the sewage conveyance system was 2.45 million cubic metres per day in total, serving a population of 5.7 million on both sides of the Victoria Harbour. The water quality of the Victoria Harbour had greatly improved in the past two years. In addition, the upgrading of the Central Preliminary Treatment Works under HATS was completed in June 2016, and the greening area involved measured about 2000 square metres. As for rehabilitation of pipes, the DSD was conducting a survey of pipes of about 10 km in total length. A survey was also planned for pipes of about 13 km in total length in the Central and Western District in May 2017 with proposal of improvement schemes. The DSD expressed gratitude to the C&WDC for working with the departmentand its valuable adviceover the years. It hoped to continue working closely with the C&WDC in order to providebetter drainage services in the district through mutual exchange.
11.The Chairman invited views from Members. The main points of Members’ comments were as follows:
(a) / Mr YEUNG Hok-ming remarked that despite the completion of the Drainage Improvement in Northern Hong Kong Island – Western Lower Catchment Works in July 2014,at times ofamber rainstorms, the discharge rate remained unsatisfactory in downstream areasincluding Queen’s Road West, Connaught Road West, Des Voeux Road West. The reason being that heavy rainfall and drain blockage had caused stormwater backflow. He said that after the commissioning of the Mass Transit Railway (MTR) West Island Line, members of the public had to wade through flooded streets to access the station entranceson days of heavy rain. In particular, stormwater backflow was bound to occur at the station entrances at Hill Road and Witty Streetduring heavy rain. He hoped that the DSD would put forward improvement measures in respect ofcrowded MTR station entrances or streets.
(b) / Mr YEUNG Hoi-wing thanked D of DS for meeting with C&WDC members. He said that after the completion of the Drainage Master Plan in 2014, stormwater drainage in some areas, including Smithfield Road, had indeed improved. However, another problem arose during the recent few black rainstorm warning days, wheresevere flooding occurred around Kwun Lung Lau with streets turned into streams. Particularlyafter the commissioning of the MTR West Island Line, the area concerned had been turned into a low-lying area; coupled with the fact that Kwun Lung Lau was a hillside housing estate, stormwater would flow down the slope to Kwun Lung Lau. He enquired if the DSD had assessed whether the area concerned had sufficient drainage capacity to cope with rainfall. He remarked that currently the management office of Kwun Lung Lau, instead of the DSD, was responsible for clearance of drains and sewersin the area concerned. He enquired whether the DSD was responsible for regular clearanceof the drains and sewers there. He hoped that the DSD and other relevant departments would conduct a comprehensive assessment ofthe channels in the vicinity of Kwun Lung Lau and examine whether an increase in their drainage capacity was necessary.
(c) / Mr CHEUNG Kwok-kwangave recognition to the DSD for their work in the past few years, including the numerous works projects conducted and sewerinspection and clearance. On the other hand, he said thatsevereflooding still occurred at times of heavy rain, and enquired about the reasons behind and whether it had anything to do with the design of gully gratings. He noted that the gully grating design had changed a few years ago and the drain holes of the new gratings were smaller than that of the old ones. He was concerned that the discharge rate would be affected if miscellaneous objects such as plastic bags landed on the gratings, and wished to know if there were any measures to tackle this problem. He learned that several new designs had been developed by some university scholars, such as hourglass or filter type gratings. He asked whether the DSD had heard of these new designs and whether it would consider adopting them to prevent obstruction of drainage systems by miscellaneous objects.
(d) / Ms CHENG Lai-kingthanked D of DS for meeting with C&WDC members. She said it might be because rain was confined to northern Hong Kong Island on 24 May and 13 June 2017that a waterfall was formed in the upstream areas and flooding occurred in the downstream areas. She said she believed that the drainage tunnel at the Mid-Levels was effective, but asked whether DSD staff would conduct regular inspection. She also asked whether the DSD would collaborate with the Hong Kong Observatory (HKO) in establishing a notification mechanism, and suggested the DSD to deploy additional manpower to inspect gully pits in rainy season. She said that flash floods occurred in-between Nos. 29 and 31 Conduit Roadas stormwater flowing downhill on the above two days, and the entire Conduit Road was flooded. Members of the public also expressed concern on the matter. Besides, she suggested that in addition to the on-going pre-wet seasonprecautionary measures, the DSD should increase the number of gully pits in flooding black spots. She also shared overseas experience, saying that she had seen staff of the drainage services department of other countries cleared up refuse in drains and sewers during typhoon periods. She hoped that Hong Kong would make reference to overseas practices to reduce the risk of flooding for benefit of the public.
(e) / Mr CHAN Choi-hi said that many cities had launched the “sponge city” programmeand asked whether Hong Kong was lagging behind in this arena. He reckoned that “sponge city” should be the ultimate objectiveof the Government, and that the programme should be included promptly in the agenda of the new principal officials so as to minimise the occurrence of flooding. He also hoped that the DSD would include the programme in its working targets, and introduce resources where appropriate to expedite the commencement of “sponge city”construction. As regards district work, he opined that repair of drains and sewers was not the best option and suggested speedy renewal of drains. He remarked that the district had been affected bysewer odour for years. The ultimate solution to the problem was renewal of drainage pipesfor alleviating the problems of flooding and sewer odour.
(f) / Mr NG Siu-hong remarked that Conduit Road and its vicinity were hilly, and enquired about DSD’s flood control strategyfor that area. He said that as debris were easily washed down by rain from slopes onto Conduit Road, he hoped that the DSD would arrange more frequent clearance and inspection of drains at the area concerned. In addition, he was aware that some of thesurface drains on walkways in the district were not levelled with the road surface, which had obstructed water drainage and resulted in water accumulation, thusproviding a breeding groundfor flies and mosquitoes and creating odournuisance. He enquired about the frequency of draininspection by the DSD and whether the DSD would increase the frequency of routine inspections. If drain blockage was due to a loophole in the drains design, he hoped the DSD could step up cleansing of pipes. In addition, he said that the new gratings were silver in colourand motorists would be easily affected by the reflections. He suggested using another colour.
(g) / Mr CHAN Chit-kwai said that sewer odour problem had existed in Sai Wan for over 10 years. Much improvement was seen after the DSD had stepped up sewerage clearance. He opined that tidal backflow, silting up of pipes and foul water pipes misconnection were among the causes of sewer odour. He said that as foul water pipes misconnection was still a problem in Sai Wan and the Mid-Levels, he hoped that the DSD would take note of it. In addition, he remarked that there was mosquito breeding at the nullah opposite King’s College on Bonham Road, and suggested converting the site into a temporary parking place to improve the traffic on Bonham Road and Western Street. He also said that accumulation of animal droppings and dead rodents was found inside the nullah opposite St. Stephen’s Girls’ College on Lyttelton Road, which was adjacent to a slope. This had resulted in mosquito breeding and causedodournuisance. He asked whether the DSD would consider conversion of the nullah into a culvert.