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More than 10,000 households in Shau Kei Wan and nearby parts of Hong Kong’s Eastern District have lost their fresh water supply after a water main burst during roadworks on Tuesday, 27 October.
The Water Supplies Department said emergency repairs were under way and it was aiming to restore supplies by midnight. The target was an estimate; restoration had not been confirmed in the reports available at the time of writing.
The incident is the second major water disruption to affect the area in about three months. A separate burst in July left around 10,000 households in Shau Kei Wan and Sai Wan Ho without fresh water for more than a day.
Where has the water supply been affected?
The latest burst occurred at around 10.30am at a construction site along Shau Kei Wan Road, according to RTHK.
The affected area includes Shau Kei Wan, parts of Sai Wan Ho and Aldrich Bay, as well as the area from A Kung Ngam Road to Island Garden, according to the Water Supplies Department notice cited by the South China Morning Post.
The department said more than 10,000 households were affected. Residents queued for emergency water supplies, while some restaurants closed because of the interruption.
One restaurant operator told RTHK that muddy water entered the premises and damaged equipment. The operator estimated losses at tens of thousands of Hong Kong dollars and said it was unclear when the restaurant could reopen.
Water wagons and tanks arranged
The Water Supplies Department said it would deploy more than 10 water wagons, 100 water tanks and tens of thousands of bottles of water to support affected residents.
People in the affected neighbourhoods should check the Water Supplies Department website for the latest suspension notices and temporary supply arrangements. Water wagon locations and the estimated restoration time may change as repairs progress.
Pipe had been in use for over 30 years
The damaged water main is 18 inches in diameter and had been in use for more than three decades, according to the Water Supplies Department. Its chief engineer said the pipe had a crack more than one metre long.
The official said the damage was caused by external force, rather than ageing. The Highways Department said the contractor had inspected the site before work began and that it would investigate the cause and whether the contractor was liable, RTHK reported.
Police said an elderly care home resident was taken to hospital after being injured. TVB News reported that a window at the home shattered when the pipe burst and that the 82-year-old woman sustained a foot injury.
Second major outage in three months
In July, a separate burst interrupted fresh water supplies to around 10,000 households in Shau Kei Wan and Sai Wan Ho. Residents and businesses had to collect water from temporary supplies, and repairs took longer than initially expected.
Water began to return gradually after 11am on 20 July, following an earlier target of 6am. The department said adverse weather and other underground pipes had complicated the repair work, South China Morning Post reported.
The two incidents should not be assumed to have the same cause: officials linked the July disruption to an ageing pipe, while the department has attributed Tuesday’s damage to external force. The latest incident remains under investigation.
