Over 10,000 Shau Kei Wan households affected by water supply cut

A water pipe burst near Shau Kei Wan Road's tram line, resulting in a large-scale water supply cut throughout Shau Kei Wan and Sai Wan Ho on Hong Kong Island.

Several buildings continue to experience disruption in drinking water that lasted for more than 12 hours -- affecting more than 10,000 households.

Water supply is expected to resume at 6:00am tomorrow.

This as Timothy Li was on site when Water Supplies Department vehicles were arranged to provide the local community with temporary water relief.

Residents in Shau Kei Wan woke up at around 6:00am to the combined horrors of blistering weather conditions and the large-scale disruption of water supply in the area.

On Kam Wa Street, Water Supplies Department vehicles were arranged to provide temporary water relief to the affected community.

Care teams were also deployed on site to assist residents in need.

Nearby restaurants were forced to close, with the main task of their staff today being to fetch drinking water.

This woman says there were signs of a water supply cut early in the morning, adding that the water flow was exceptionally slow at around 7:00 to 8:00am.

By the afternoon, the Water Supplies Department deployed at least 12 water wagons, 100 water tanks and arranged 10,000 water bottles to be brought to the area.

Water bags were also handed out to local residents, with queues of people stretching all the way to Shau Kei Wan Main Street East.

This woman says she doesn't have a single drop of water left back home, and desperately hopes the water situation could soon be fixed.

While this woman says she never experienced water supply disruption in all her 25 years of living in Shau Kei Wan.

As you can see behind me, scores of Water Supplies Department staff have been deployed to Shau Kei Wan this afternoon to alleviate local residents' water concerns.

The department said each resident is permitted to take one to two bottles of water, but stressed exceptions could be made for extraordinary circumstances.

This as the water disruption area stretches from Ming Wah Dai Ha on A Kung Ngam Road to Felicity Garden on Tai On Street, with more than 10,000 households being affected.

The Water Supplies Department emphasises the disruption issue lies with the age of the district's water pipes.

Initially we think that because the pipe concern is a cast iron pipe.

The cast iron pipe is made of old material and has been used for many years.

Due to age, the material becomes brittle.

So, when it bursts, it will not provide any initial signs.

So, I think this is the difficulty that we need to handle.

In the next few years, we will replace eight kilometres of these kinds of pipes all over the district.

Meanwhile, the Water Supplies Department notes it will continue to work with the Eastern District Office and care teams to assist those with particular needs including the elderly and business owners.