Sustainable Development and Management of Water Resources for Urban Water Supply in Hong Kong

Abstract

Hong Kong, now a Special Administrative Region of China, is a very special and unique place in the world. Although the territory is located in the humid subtropics, local water resources are very limited because of its geographical setting and physical environment. Hong Kong's urban water supply has its uniqueness and has gone through a history of developing local resources and transferring water from the East River (Dongjiang) basin in mainland China over the past half century. This paper aims to present the experience and challenges in developing water supplies and managing water resources in Hong Kong. First, the availability of local water resources is evaluated in the context of the territory's geographical setting. Second, the approaches adopted for developing urban water supply from local resources and more importantly, by making use of water imported from the Dongjiang, are presented and reviewed. Finally, a number of sustainability issues in Hong Kong's urban water supply are addressed with an emphasis on the problems and prospect of the Dongjiang water resources in the future

Keywords:

• Urban water supply
• cross-basin water transfer
• water resources management
• sustainable development
• Hong Kong
• China