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Hong Kong water supply
This Week in AsiaOpinion
Neil Newman
Neil Newman

Abacus | Japan will profit from Singapore’s taste for sewage. Hong Kong dig in!

  • Hong Kong’s dependence on imported water is a problem increasingly being felt across the world
  • Population growth, climate change and plain old bad piping mean it’s time to invest in the companies behind desalination technology

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FILE - The Sept. 4, 2015 file photo shows the Carlsbad, Calif. desalination plant which borders Interstate 5 on one side and the Pacific Ocean on the other in Carlsbad, Calif. UN Warns of Rising Levels of Toxic Brine as Desalination Plants Meet Growing Water Needs. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi, file)
Neil Newman
Hong Kong is notorious for its dependence on imports. Consumer goods, food, electricity and, crucially, water. In fact, our reliance on drinking water piped across the border is cited as one of the main reasons the British quickly agreed to return the territory to China in 1997 without seriously considering other options – China could simply turn off the tap.

HONG KONG DROUGHT OF THE 1960s

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In the 1960s, Hong Kong was struck by a severe drought, with water rationed and supplied only for four hours every four days. The colonial government opted for a quick fix under the desperate circumstances, undertaking the Dongshen project to import water from the Dongjiang in Guangdong. The abundant fresh water from China, coupled with construction of water reservoirs and seawater flushing infrastructure, got the crisis under control within a few years. And attempts to create an alternative water supply through desalination were abandoned five years before the handover. To the British, buying water from the mainland was simply a commercial transaction, but in the process it gave the Chinese the upper hand in negotiations by controlling Hong Kong’s water supply.

The Aberdeen Reservoir Dam in Hong Kong. Photo: Martin Chan
The Aberdeen Reservoir Dam in Hong Kong. Photo: Martin Chan

Hong Kong has grown increasingly reliant on imported water, and the Dongshen Water Supply Scheme now accounts for 70-80 per cent of fresh water used today, and about 52 per cent of total water consumed – catchment water and toilet flushing seawater included.

Water security, that is both access to clean water and safety from flooding, is a growing global concern. And although a vast amount of rain has fallen in the region this year, relieving near-term shortages while causing a lot of other issues, the long-term problem is not going away. And thanks to the coronavirus we are all being called upon to wash our hands more frequently, which may be a drop in the bucket compared with the amount we use for a lazy shower, but it doesn’t help.

RAPID GLOBAL POPULATION GROWTH

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