The Water Supplies Department revealed at the beginning of this year that they are reviewing water tariffs that have not been revised for 29 years. According to a recent disclosure to the media by the Water Supplies Department, a public consultation team was established in April to seek opinions from different industries and groups on raising water tariffs. The Department reiterated that the review of water tariffs will consider the affordability of citizens, the socio-economic situation, and the financial status of water service operations.
Since February 1995, Hong Kong has not adjusted its water tariffs for nearly 30 years. The financial accounts of water supply operations have been in deficit since the 1998/99 fiscal year, with the deficit increasing significantly from less than HK$1 billion in the 2013/14 fiscal year to over HK$2.4 billion in the 2022/23 fiscal year.
At the same time, the number of customers has significantly increased from 2.2 million in the 1998/99 fiscal year to 3.2 million currently. The expansion of water facilities to meet customer demands has led to rising costs, with the latest cost recovery rate of water service operations dropping to 79%. The fresh water production costs for the 2021/22 and 2022/23 fiscal years have remained around HK$10 per cubic meter, exceeding the charging level of HK$4.16.
Regarding the review of water tariffs, the Water Supplies Department stated that in April, a public consultation team met with various industries and groups, including several catering industry associations and laundry industry chambers, to listen to their opinions on raising water tariffs. They also provided water-saving suggestions to help reduce water expenses. The Department mentioned that they will continue to meet with representatives from other industries such as food processing, beauty, hotel, and construction sectors to gather their opinions before deciding on adjusting fees. No deadline has been set for listening to industry opinions. Suggestions to change the water tariff levels must be submitted to the Legislative Council for approval through the legislative process.
Representatives from the consulted industries revealed that during the meetings with the Water Supplies Department, they were not informed about the extent of the tariff increase or a specific schedule.
Proposed Establishment of “Water Conservation Special Task Force”
Furthermore, a special article on water quality monitoring was published on the government news website yesterday. Engineer Tam Ka-yan from the Water Supplies Department mentioned that due to the impact of the pandemic, the per capita daily water consumption in Hong Kong residences increased to around 150 liters between 2020 and 2022, up by 10% from 2019.
She believes that it is urgent to raise awareness among citizens about conserving water. In addition to ongoing promotional activities, the Water Supplies Department initiated a new round of water conservation campaign in February this year, and plans are underway to establish a “Water Conservation Special Task Force” to provide consultation and technical support services to customers with high water consumption levels, helping them reduce water usage. The Department hopes that with various measures in place, they will promptly reduce the per capita daily water consumption in residences to below 135 liters, the level before the pandemic. ◇