Newsletter No. 17

No.17 Apr. 1991 CUHK Newsletter T h e U n i v e r s i t y B u i l t H o n g K o n g ' s F i r s t Sewag e Treatmen t Plan t Delving into the Past T he Chinese University is justifiably proud of the fact that i t was instrumental in constructing the first-ever sewage treatment plant in Hong Kong. Today, nearly two decades after its inauguration i n 1971 ， the plant no longer exists. I t has been honourably retired in order to make way for the construction of the Tolo Harbour Highway. Ma L i u Shui in the early days of the University was a quiet, serene place, but as the campus developed in phases throughout the seventies, a growing staff and student population soon began t o challenge the rudimentary means of sewage disposal which existed at that time. It was no longer possible, o r indeed ethical, to continue to allow the raw effluent to drain directly into Tolo Harbour. A sewage treatment plant would present the only solution t o the growing problem, and since it would be the first plant of its kind in Hong Kong, i t was essential for i t to be designed and built by professionals with previous expertise in this area. The design and construction work were subsequently contracted out to a Japanese company, which also provided specialist staff to train the local operators once the construction o f the plant was complete. This was not without its difficulties though, as the works supervisor o f the Bu i l d i n gs O f f i ce responsible for the management o f the plant i n those days, Mr. Fung Kai-on, recollects, ‘The Japanese didn't speak much English, and we didn't understand Japanese, so in order to communicate with each other, we had t o use gestures! Fortunately the operating procedures weren't too complicated and after a bit of practice we soon picked up the skills necessary to operate the plant.' The plant was designed to work on an activated sludge process which would purify the waste water coming mainly from the toilets. Incoming sewage from all over the campus was directed through drains to the new plant. After the various purification processes o f grit removal, primary sedimentation, aeration and comminution, the water quality would be of a high enough standard t o be discharged, through an underwater pipe, into Tolo Harbour. The sewage treatment plant was located on the northern side of the present Marine Science Laboratory, occupying a site o f 5,670 sq.m. Construction work started i n the summer o f 1970, and by mid-1971 trial operations had begun. Later on that same year, the plant was fully operational and capable of treating 1920 cu.m. of waste water every day. The total cost of the plant was $2.5 million. Being the first sewage treatment plant i n the territory, it obviously attracted a constant streamof visitors, who came from schools, organizations, and various government departments. Mr. Fung still recalls the pride of his Japanese colleagues who designed and installed the plant, and the absolute confidence which they had in the purity of the water, maintaining that after treatment, the waste water wou ld be perfectly drinkable. Wi th slightly more scepticism and reservations, Mr. Fung issued a challenge' to his Japanese colleagues: drink a glass of the treated effluent and he would treat them t o a Chinese meal. Ultimately the Japanese experts were brave enough t o sample a glass o f the finished product and so were able to enjoy the promised meal at the expense of their hosts. For 15 years the sewage treatment plant f u l f i l l ed its role faithfully and effectively, but then in 1986 the Government decided to build the Tolo Harbour Highway, a plan which would require the land occupied up till then by the plant to be absorbed into the highway. The waste water from the University campus would in the meantime have to be rechannelled to the Sha Tin Sewage Treatment Plant. On the face of it, the University lost one of its most valuable and necessary assets, but in reality it probably gained more than i t lost, as Mr. Vincent Chen, director of Buildings Office, explains, ‘When the plant was demolished it had already been in use for 15 years and the whole operation was stretched to its limit. Some parts of the plant were wearing out, and new facilities were urgently needed. The highway project came atjust the right time to enable the University to save the funds necessary for a new sewage plant. An unexpected bonus also appeared in the shape of a large plot o f land adjacent to the University, granted in compensation by the government for having to requisition the site of the sewage plant for the highway and the new railway track .' With this plot of land, the University was able t o improve the transportation network on the campus. So, insteado f losing, the University actually gained. 9