Hong Kong, 18 June 2025: Feeling thirsty? Before reaching for a glass, consider that 27% of the global population – some 2.2 billion people – lack “safely managed drinking water”, according to the World Health Organization and UNICEF. This includes more than 700 million individuals who have to walk more than 30 minutes to collect water from a tap, use unprotected sources such as wells, or make do with untreated water from rivers or lakes.
Females bear the brunt of such shortages. Globally, women are most likely to be responsible for fetching water, while girls are nearly twice as likely as boys to do so. “Every step a girl takes to collect water is a step away from learning, play and safety,” observes UNICEF director Cecilia Sharp. The same report highlights that 43% of the world’s citizens lack “safely managed sanitation”, while some 25% do not even have access at home to a handwashing facility with soap and water.
Clearly then, worrying about the water quality in your home is a first-world problem. And yet, you have to feel sympathy for the residents of two public housing estates in Hong Kong who have been plagued by black particles in their tap water and are frustrated by the authorities’ slow response. With angry citizens, harassed officials, campaigning legislators and head-scratching engineers, it’s come to resemble – ahem! – a soap opera.
The problem particles pouring out of taps at Queens Hill and Shan Lai Court in Fanling turn out to be bitumen, a petroleum-derived substance previously used for coating the inner walls of pipes but banned from such use since 2005. A 400-metre section of ageing main pipe supplying fresh water to the relatively modern estates has been identified as the source and will be replaced in the coming months.
Despite government assertions the water is safe, residents remain irate. The Water Supplies Department laboured almost a week to investigate and identify the bitumen – merely confirming the results of a test commissioned by enterprising local media and conducted by the Education University inside half a day. Installing additional filters has only alleviated the issue, not solved it. Development minister Bernadette Linn has copped the most flak, both for the government’s lacklustre response and her constant assurances the water is okay for consumption. “Why doesn’t she come and drink it herself?” asks mother-of-two Fanny Leung.
City leader John Lee, who has made efficiency and accountability cornerstones of his administration, is “highly concerned” and has convened an expert team to implement a 10-point action plan. This includes daily water testing and publishing the results, cleaning tanks and setting up a complaints hotline.
Still, it is seen as a bruising episode for the government. Veteran political commentator Sonny Lo describes the delayed reaction as “embarrassing”. Think-tank consultant Lau Siu-kai believes officials have failed to understand it is not only a livelihood problem but a political issue. Ho Kin-chung, ex-chairman of the Advisory Committee on the Quality of Water Supplies, thinks senior officers have failed to comprehend residents’ anger and frustration.
But this gurgling problem could yet be a flood as Hong Kong grapples with ageing water pipes. Granted, a 15-year programme has seen more than half this city’s 5,700km of water mains repaired or replaced, reducing ruptures from more than 2,500 per year to just 27 in 2024. However, up to 150km of pipes which have been in use for at least 75 years remain untouched because they are under major roads or traffic junctions. “They have become ticking time bombs,” warns Wong King of the International Institute of Utility Specialists.
Water woes as well at upmarket Redhill Peninsula. Readers may recall how landslides triggered by a record-breaking downpour in September 2023 exposed illegal structures at three luxury properties adjacent to the sea. Subsequent investigations revealed dozens of home owners there had taken similar liberties, leading to some 30 prosecutions. Now, the first two cases have been heard, with the guilty parties ordered to pay fines of HK$82,980 and HK$30,000 respectively. Cue indignation from lawmakers and safety engineers, who fume the figures are too low.
“This is not a good message sent to the public,” says legislator Andrew Lam, contrasting the modest fines with the sky-high value of the properties. Former Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors president Vincent Ho agrees: “The sentence is too low to be a realistic deterrent.” He has welcomed proposed amendments to the Buildings Ordinance which will see far heavier penalties – a maximum fine of HK$2 million and up to two years behind bars – for owners convicted of illegally building a basement or other significant structures.
No doubt esteemed barrister Ng Jern-Fei KC would have a view on this. An international dispute resolution specialist who handles a wide variety of cases in multiple jurisdictions, Jern-Fei is my latest guest on Law & More, where he reflects on his upbringing in Malaysia, law studies at Cambridge and early steps in the legal profession. Please listen.
In closing, some other news highlights: Walter Leung has been awarded the Florence Nightingale Medal, the highest international distinction for nurses, for his 15 years of volunteer work with the Red Cross; Aristo Sham has become the first Hongkonger to win the prestigious Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in Fort Worth, Texas; and racing drivers Antares Au and Jonathan Hui have just completed the gruelling 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Well done, all. Indeed, reading these success stories, you could argue that – aside from bitumen – Hong Kong has talent on tap.
Until next time, everybody!
Colin Cohen
Senior Partner
Boase Cohen & Collins
