Shing Mun River Improvements

Work is underway to reduce the unpleasant odours created by polluted sediment in the Shing Mun River, which empties into Tolo Harbour.

Bioremediation (Click to enlarge)

Dredging (Click to enlarge)

Artificial River Bank (Click to enlarge)

The sediment became contaminated in the 1980s when large amounts of industrial, commercial, livestock and domestic waste water was dumped untreated into the river. This problem was controlled by the early 1990s under the Water Pollution Control Ordinance, resulting in good water quality. But the dregs of the wastes are still sitting on the river bottom, creating bad odours.

Three areas of work have been undertaken to improve the sediment and odours. One area involves treating the sediment directly through bioremediation, which involves injecting oxygen-releasing solution into the sediment. This reduces odours and speeds up the decomposition of organic pollution in the sediment.

Another area of work is the dredging of the Shing Mun River from the Hong Kong Sports Institute to Man Lai Court. Large amounts of contaminated sediment will be removed, thereby improving the odour problem. Dredging will also help to control flooding by removing sediment that has been blocking storm water drain outlets.

Additionally, an artificial river bank will be built along a 250-metre section near Man Lai Court,where there are relatively severe sediment accumulations and odour problems.

The $45 million project, which began in May 2001, was proposed by the EPD and is being carried out by the Civil Engineering Department. The bioremediation, dredging and river bank work will be completed in 2002 and further work will be carried out if needed.

For other detailed information of the Shing Mun River Improvement Works, please visit the website for the Shing Mun River as jointly prepared by the EPD and the HKEducationCity.NET under the Digital Student Ambassador Programme.