Hongkongers urged to spend a minute less in shower to save 10 litres of water a day

Hongkongers were urged yesterday to spend a minute less in the shower to save 10 litres of water every day.

Secretary for Development Paul Chan Mo-po appealed in his blog for the public to get into the habit of spending less time in the shower to prepare the city for "the unpredictable future" in the global supply of fresh water.

He said the city cannot rely solely on exploring other sources of fresh water without residents cutting their usage.

Each person in the city uses an average of 130 litres of fresh water every day, which is higher than many other major cities across the world, including Singapore and London.

"We would need to develop more water resources while cutting our water consumption so that we can be in a better position to tackle any uncertainties that may arise in the future," he wrote, referring to the shrinking global supply of fresh water due to world population growth, economic development and climate change.

He said the Water Supplies Department had been exploring new sources of fresh water supply - such as desalination, extension of the seawater for flushing supply system, sewage recycling and rainwater harvesting - but the government had to rely on the public to curb demand.