The reporter learned from the Guangdong Provincial Department of Water Resources that on December 27, representatives of the people of Guangdong Province and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region signed a new round of "Agreement on Intaking Water from the Dongjiang River to Supply Hong Kong" to Hong Kong. This is the 13th round of water supply agreements signed since the water supply to Hong Kong, and the agreement clarifies the water supply mode, annual water supply and water quality standards for Hong Kong in the next three years, which is conducive to ensuring the safety of water supply to Hong Kong.
Photo courtesy of the correspondent.
It is understood that the Dongshen Water Supply Project is a large-scale cross-basin water diversion project built by the state to solve the drinking water difficulties of Hong Kong compatriots, which started construction in February 1964 and was completed in March 1965 and officially supplied water to Hong Kong. After three expansions and one full-line transformation, the water supply to Hong Kong has moved from the guarantee of "quantity" to the double guarantee of "quantity" and "quality", and the scale of water supply has reached 242.3 billion m a year, the water quality is maintained above the national water standard. According to statistics, in the past 60 years, the total amount of water supplied to Hong Kong has reached more than 29 billion cubic meters. Since 2020, with the joint efforts of Guangdong and Hong Kong, Guangdong has overcome severe drought, salinity and epidemics, ensured Hong Kong's largest water supply demand in the most water-scarce years, and spared no effort to ensure the safety of water supply to Hong Kong, with an annual water supply of more than 800 million cubic metres for four consecutive years, a record high.
In recent years, the state, the Guangdong Provincial Party Committee and the provincial government have attached great importance to ensuring the water supply to Hong Kong. In 2022, the Dongshen Water Supply Project was included in the list of the first batch of major water diversion projects in the country. The main leaders of the Guangdong Provincial Party Committee and the provincial government have inspected the Dongjiang River for many times, inspected the Xinfengjiang Reservoir, and investigated the Dongshen Water Supply Project, emphasizing the need to effectively protect the water source, further improve the operation and management level of the project, and ensure "stable water supply, safe water supply, and high-quality water supply" to Hong Kong.
In order to implement the spirit of the instructions of the state, the Guangdong Provincial Party Committee and the provincial government, and earnestly do a good job in the work of water supply to Hong Kong, Guangdong has implemented a series of safeguard measures to provide a solid guarantee for the safety of water supply to Hong Kong. In terms of legislative protection, the "Measures for the Management of the Dongshen Water Supply Project in Guangdong Province" and the "Measures for the Management of the Water Dispatch of the Dongjiang River in Guangdong Province" have been issued to further improve the laws and regulations. In terms of water quality, we will implement a long-term mechanism for horizontal ecological compensation in the Dongjiang Basin, comprehensively promote the river chief system, strengthen the management and protection of rivers and lakes, and build a Shawan River interception and discharge project to effectively ensure the safety of water quality in the Dongjiang River water source and port supply. In terms of water volume, we will strengthen river basin co-ordination and water volume control, and implement a temporary water volume adjustment mechanism to ensure sufficient and flexible water supply in Hong Kong. In terms of project management, the standardized management of projects will be organized, and in 2023, the Dongshen Water Supply Project will be recognized as one of the first three water diversion projects that meet the standardized management requirements of the Ministry of Water Resources, further improving the level of water supply guarantee for Hong Kong.
At present, Guangdong Province is focusing on the implementation of the "851" blueprint for high-quality water conservancy, and the planned construction of the Pearl River Delta water resources allocation project will be officially opened next year, which can provide 10ms of backup water source for Hong Kong, which will further ensure Hong Kong's long-term high-quality water resources.
The Guangdong Provincial Department of Water Resources said that the signing of the new round of agreement is an important basis for implementing the Framework Agreement on Hong Kong/Guangdong Co-operation and ensuring the security of water supply to Hong Kong, the result of long-term mutual trust and sincere cooperation between the two sides, and a new starting point for the two sides to work together to seek high-quality development.