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The column for anyone fed up with bureaucracy, frustrated with delays or furious with poor service. Tell us your complaint and we'll try to fix it ...

Peter Cawthorne, of Ping Long Village, writes to complain that his water supply has been regularly disrupted since a new water main was installed two years ago.

'Once again, the water supply was disrupted in my village,' he wrote. 'This was the sixth or seventh time the water main under Lam Kam Road has burst since it was replaced approximately two years ago. Several of these ruptures have been at the same location.

'The Water Supplies Department [WSD], as usual, provided tankers so residents could collect water for cooking and washing, but why does it take two hours for these to arrive?'

He said he had complained to a department supervisor at the scene as to why a water tanker could not be provided on standby given the regularity of pipe failure.

'He said that the relevant department would be informed and that the new pipe might have to be replaced. What! After only two years!

'In the end, we have to put up with the inconvenience of several hours without a basic service. And who has to pay for these shoddy repairs? Come on, WSD, the 'S' stands for supplies, please supply.'

The department has apologised for the main bursts. Senior Engineer K. K. Suen said the section of the main pipe that burst several times was old and needed to be replaced. The section installed two years ago has been working fine.

'The main burst incidents occurred at different locations along Lam Kam Road near Ping Long Village and San Tong Village, and the water mains concerned were laid in 1983,' Mr Suen said. 'The new water main mentioned in Mr Cawthorne's e-mail is believed to be the newly laid 300 metres of water main along the section of Lam Kam Road from Ping Long Village to Ma Po Mei.

'No main burst has occurred along this new section of main since it was put into service in early 2004. We have decided to replace the troublesome section between Ping Tong Village and San Tong Village as soon as possible.

'We have been actively liaising with the Highways Department, Transport Department and the police for an excavation permit, and working with them to negotiate temporary arrangements for the busy traffic along Lam Kam Road. We now expect to proceed with the main-laying work in late July.'

A resident of Harbour Heights in Fortress bought her flat there in 2003 and was assured by her property agent and the original owner that the premises allowed dogs in the flats. She subsequently received warning letters from the estate management company that the deed of mutual covenant explicitly bans dog ownership and she must get rid of her dog to avoid a lawsuit.

'This is despite that fact that I have counted up to 20 other households which have kept dogs,' she said. 'Being a second-hand buyer, I had no access to the mutual covenant. Instead, I could only rely on the information given by the property agent. I bought these premises to provide a better living environment for my dog. However, the dishonesty of the property agent has brought lots of trouble into my life.

'If they use the mutual covenant as a ground against me, all dog owners should have received letters.'

An officer with Harbour Heights management office said unauthorised dog ownerships had been a long-standing problem and her office could only send periodic warning letters to owners.

'But in cases where there have been repeated complaints from neighbours, we may take further steps, including legal action,' the officer said.

She admitted that it might be difficult for flat buyers to access the deed of mutual covenant because property agents do not as a rule provide a copy.

Ken Lipofski of Central observes that a set of traffic lights near Jordan always change too fast, frequently forcing motorists to run a red light.

'When turning onto Canton Road from Wui Cheung Road on a green light, the light almost always changes to red before the complete turn can be made,' he wrote.

'Also, the traffic lights in Hong Kong are much too low, making it hard for car drivers to see the lights when buses and trucks are in front of them.'

The Transport Department said its technicians checked the lights' timing on two days and found they were working properly.

'For traffic on Wui Cheung Road turning right onto Canton Road, a green time for traffic ranging from 22 to 46 seconds is provided in each cycle. The inter-green times are also appropriate, it said.

'Traffic light signals in Hong Kong are usually located on kerb sides with the height of the centre of the green lens from the surface of the carriageway not less than 2.1 metres. Motorists driving a sufficient distance from the front vehicles should be able to see them.