CEEQUAL rating of Good for new salt water supply system in Hong Kong
Overview
The Salt Water Supply System for Pok Fu Lam Area was a design and construction supervision assignment commissioned by the Water Supplies Department (WSD) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, for a new salt water supply system serving the Pok Fu Lam. Recognised by CEEQUAL, now known as BREEAM Infrastructure, for its commitment to sustainable practices, the project earned a rating of Good.
About
The Water Supplies Department (WSD) is the government-owned water suppliers in Hong Kong.
Background
Commissioned in July 2007, the goal of the project was to provide a new system for supplying salt water for flushing, instead of fresh water, to the Pok Fu Lam area. The aim was to save substantial amount of fresh water every day.
Challenges
The project’s nature itself is creating wider social benefits by reducing potable water consumption. Public facilities were improved by incorporating part of the open space of the Telegraph Bay site into the adjacent Cyberport Park for amenity purpose, but it was not without challenges.
A number of consultation meetings were held by the client, designer and contractor with different parties during the different phases of the project, including the District Council members and the residents in the district to inform them on the potential impacts of the project.
Potential effects on neighbours were identified by conducting various impact assessments during construction and operational stage including noise pollution, air pollution, water quality, waste, cultural heritage, landscape and visual and ecology. Various measures were incorporated into the construction and operational processes to mitigate effects on neighbours on visual, dust, and noise.
Solutions
In particular, the use of acoustic roller shutter in the pump hall demonstrated the use of innovative solutions for nuisance mitigation in minimising the noise impact to the nearby area. The selection of external finish of the Telegraph Bay Salt Water Pumping Station allows the pumping station to blend into the adjacent development.
Although there are no archaeological remains within the development area, four masonry bridges located at the main access road to the Pok Fu Lam site were identified. Soon after the commencement of the project, these bridges were announced as Declared Monuments and the project was suspended to carry out protection measures to the bridges.
Temporary bridge mitigation works were put in place to minimise damage, including adding structural support by steel and also controlling the traffic of heavy vehicle trucks during construction. The protection works to the bridges was performed by professional structural engineers and monitored by a history professional from the statutory organisation.
Benefits
The project resulted in:
- Construction of Telegraph Bay Salt Water Pumping Station and the associated sea water intake culvert at Telegraph Bay seafront area
- Construction of Wah Fu Salt Water Service Reservoir near Wah Fu Estate
- Construction of Wah Fu Salt Water Pumping Station near Wah Fu Estate
- Construction of Pok Fu Lam Salt Water Service Reservoir on the hill behind Pok Fu Lam Village
- Laying of the associated salt water mains
