Hong Kong's Wastewater Underground

Oswell, Mike A.; ,

Hong Kong's Wastewater Underground

by Mike A. Oswell, Dir.; Montgomery Watson, Hong Kong,

Serial Information: Civil Engineering—ASCE, 1993, Vol. 63, Issue 10, Pg. 48-51

Document Type: Feature article

Abstract:

Standard Hong Kong methods for siting the new $18 million Stanley Wastewater Treatment Plant in Hong Kong Island's South District were running into trouble. The rocky coastal area is a scenic tourist attraction, which meant that land reclamation was unacceptable, yet there were no suitable areas of unoccupied ground available. The solution, suggested by Montgomery Watson, Hong Kong, was to place the plant 60 m below ground, under a hill just outside of the village of Stanley. Siting the plant underground created more problems than just blasting 100,000 cu m of caverns out of solid granite, however. Ventilation, staff evacuation and the noise conducting properties of stone were all challenges that engineers had to work around to create a working plant capable of processing 11,600 cu m of wastes before discharging the effluent through a 2.5 km undersea outfall pipe. When the plant opens in April 1994, its function will make for clearer beaches while its underground location will make for a clearer skyline.

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