Consumers in Hong Kong are urged to respond in action to a global call for access to clean water.
The call was made in observance of the World Consumer Rights Day 2004. "Water is a Consumer Right" is the theme for this year.
At a press conference today (March 13), the Chief Executive of the Consumer Council, Mrs. Pamela CHAN, noted that Hong Kong's consumers are a fortunate lot comparing with those in many parts of the world in terms of access to clean water.
"One in six of the world's population lacks an adequate supply of safe water, and twice as many lack access to proper sanitation," she added.
In a joint effort in Hong Kong, the Consumer Council has collaborated with the Water Supplies Department (WSD) to heighten consumer awareness of the importance and need of maintaining a high quality of water supply at the taps.
Towards this goal, a Clean-Water-Tank operation was mounted today at one of Hong Kong's high rise tenement buildings - at Wang Man House, Cheung Wang Estate, Tsing Yi.
The housing block is one of a growing number of residential buildings which have successfully joined the WSD's Fresh Water Plumbing Quality Maintenance Recognition Scheme. Nearly 1,000 buildings in Hong Kong are now in the scheme.
Although the quality of treated water from the WSD fully complies with the World Health Organization guidelines for drinking water and that more than 99.9% of residents have government water supply in Hong Kong, discolored or dirty tap water remains a source of consumer grievance.
The problem could often be traced to rusted pipes or water tanks with accumulation of silt and rust, etc. In 2003, the WSD received a total of 1,970 consumer complaints related to water quality and in the first two months of this year, 278 similar cases, and subsequently issued, in most cases, advisory letters for the cleaning of water tanks as the solution.
Under the WSD's scheme, building owners or consumers are required to have the water tanks cleaned at least once every three months, and the plumbing system inspected at the same interval by licensed plumbers and qualified personnel. Further, water samples have to be taken once a year and the test results comply with pre-set limits.
To arouse public awareness and assist consumers in their choice of service providers, the Consumer Council has surveyed the market in the cleaning of water tanks.
The survey showed that in most cases, the charge is less than a thousand dollars, but depending on the capacity and condition of the water tanks and working environment, prices can go up to a few thousand dollars. For water sampling and analysis, the cost is about a thousand dollars for each sample.
Consumers are further advised that the task of cleaning water tanks should be performed only by personnel with appropriate experience and supervised by competent personnel.
In addition, to avoid water charge disputes, the new owner or occupier of the premises should apply to become the registered consumer on moving in, and soon before moving out should inform the WSD 14 days before the actual termination date. Failure to terminate registered water account may lead to financial liability for water charges after moving out.
World Consumer Rights Day was first observed in 1983, co-ordinated by the Consumers International, which is a federation of consumer organizations dedicated to the protection and promotion of consumer rights worldwide through empowering national consumer groups and campaigning at the international level. It currently represents over 250 organizations in 115 countries. The Consumer Council, Hong Kong, is a member of both its Executive and Council. More information can be found on CI's website: http://www.consumersinternational.org
Presiding at the press conference today are: Mrs. Pamela CHAN, Chief Executive of Consumer Council and Mr. Roger M.P. LAM, Senior Engineer of Water Supplies Department.