Expert panel formed in Hong Kong to probe chronic water loss at Yuen Long estate
Water Supplies Department says it will offer technical support to residents of Fairview Park, where leakage issues have persisted since 1990s
Hong Kong authorities have set up a three-member expert group to look into persistent freshwater losses at Yuen Long’s Fairview Park housing estate, following criticism from landlords over bureaucratic inertia.
But the Water Supplies Department maintained that it was not responsible for repairing water pipes laid within private land, though authorities would provide technical support to residents.
In a Facebook post on Sunday, the department said it had commissioned an independent expert panel of three professionals and academics with expertise in water works to provide third-party advice on Fairview Park’s water loss problem through scientific and objective analysis.
“The expert panel will examine the site environment, review the department’s previous on-site test results and use advanced technologies such as ground-penetrating radar and acoustic detectors to collect data across different areas for analysing the condition of the water pipes,” the department said.
No further details about the expert panel’s membership were provided. The department also did not say whether the experts had begun their work or how long the review would take.
Fairview Park, a middle-class residential estate of free-standing houses, has struggled with water loss problems since the 1990s. A major repair about 20 years ago failed to stop the leakage.