Hongkongers’ water usage drops by 12% compared with during peak of pandemic
Water supplies chief Roger Wong also says government still deciding how much to adjust prices by, about nine months after idea was floated
Hongkongers’ water usage has dropped by 12 per cent compared with during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, a city official has said.
Director of Water Supplies Roger Wong Yan-lok also said on Saturday that the government was still deciding how much to adjust prices by, about nine months after his organisation floated the idea.
He added that the department had learned from the hotel, catering and construction sectors that a gradual approach to such changes was important.
Wong said the average daily domestic water consumption per capita among Hong Kong households had decreased from 151 litres during the pandemic’s peak to the present level of 133 litres.
The department had earlier launched schemes targeting the top 1 per cent of high water consumers to reduce their usage and help the city save up to 500,000 cubic metres of water in 2025.
Water utilities in the city are currently priced at up to HK$9.05 (US$1.16) per cubic metre and have been frozen since 1995. The government also waived 75 per cent of water and sewage charges for non-domestic households during the pandemic.
