An offer by Hong Kong to take less water from Guangdong has been turned down despite persistent drought in the Pearl River Delta.
Guangdong water officials said it was unnecessary for Hong Kong to cut back on its intake from the Dongjiang, a tributary of the Pearl River, according to the city's director of water supplies, Ma Lee-tak.
'We expressed readiness to reduce our intake if there was any need, but they said it was not needed at the moment,' Ma said, adding that Guangdong officials had been thankful for Hong Kong's 'friendly gesture'.
Hong Kong can draw a maximum of 820 million cubic metres of water from the Dongjiang, or East River, each year, or 3 per cent of the tributary's run-off volume.
Ma said the intake by Hong Kong was too small to make any reduction by the city meaningful to total Guangdong consumption.
He said any water saved by Hong Kong would be of little help to ease the drought, as most of the affected areas were away from the Pearl River. What was most urgently needed in these areas was irrigation water, rather than drinking water.
Ma said Hong Kong would have sufficient water supplies until the next rainy season.
