Overview of Sewage Services Charges

The Government has been allocating resources towards Hong Kong's sewage treatment every year. In accordance with the “Polluter Pays” principle, the DSD continues to implement the Sewage Services Charging Scheme under which all users whose premises are connected to public sewers shall pay sewage charges. The sewage services charges consist of two components, namely the Sewage Charge (SC) and the Trade Effluent Surcharge (TES). Currently, 27 trades are required to pay the TES.

Billing and Water Consumption Statistics

In the year under review, among the approximately 3.08 million water utility users in Hong Kong, about 2.85 million are required to pay the SC. Among all the non-domestic users, about 30,000 are required to pay the TES. The distribution of industries to which the TES payers belong is shown in the box below.

 

Reassessment of the TES Rate and Discharge Factor

Non-domestic consumers may apply for a reassessment of the TES rate or discharge factor if they consider that their effluent strength or discharge factor is lower than the corresponding values specified by law. The reassessed TES rate is valid for three years.

 

Customer Enquiries

Adhering to its value of “customer satisfaction”, the DSD is dedicated to providing quality services for Hong Kong citizens. Apart from setting up a 24-hour hotline, we have also made performance pledges on different areas of our services to address public enquiries in a timely manner. In the year under review, we received a total of 2,653 telephone and written enquiries about our sewage services charges; over 98% of the written enquiries were formally replied to within a month.