News and Updates
WaterWise Initiative for Commercial Buildings
This initiative digitises water meters for commercial buildings by retrofitting existing meters, enabling the detection of leaks and the identification of high-usage activities. This new smart water solution promotes informed decision-making on water conservation and enhances ESG reporting.
Now open for application!
Smart Water Detectives: A STEM Student Ambassador Programme- Final Presentation and Award Ceremony
The “Smart Water Detectives: A STEM Student Ambassador Programme” has come to a successful conclusion with the Final Presentation and Award Ceremony on May 20, 2023 (Saturday). We are thrilled to announce that all participating schools have successfully reduced their water consumption by executing their water-saving plans. Congratulations to all the winning teams and a huge thank you to all the student ambassadors and teachers for their incredible efforts in this programme!
Date: May 20, 2023 (Saturday)
Time: 10:00am-12:30pm
Venue: G/F, InnoWing, HKU
Seminar on “Salient water-related nexus issues in transitioning Hong Kong into a sustainable city”
HKU Water Centre’s Executive Director, Dr. Frederick Lee, recently delivered a seminar on the water-related challenges facing Hong Kong in its transition towards sustainability. The seminar was organized by the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers (HKIE) and focused on the nexus issues surrounding water use and management in the city. The seminar was well-received by attendees.
Date: March 23, 2023 (Thursday)
Time: 7:00-8:30pm
Topic: Salient water-related nexus issues in transitioning Hong Kong into a sustainable city
Venue: HKIE Headquarters
Second Workshop for Smart Water Detectives: A STEM Student Ambassador Programme
We are thrilled to announce the successful completion of the Second Workshop of the “Smart Water Detectives: A STEM Student Ambassador Programme” held on 18 March. The workshop was an engaging and hands-on learning experience for 37 student ambassadors from 5 schools who were eager to promote water conservation in their schools.
During the workshop, the students had an incredible opportunity to put their creativity to produce unique and visually appealing signages that conveyed water conservation messages for their schools. In addition, the students used school-specific water consumption data to formulate innovative and effective water conservation plans.
Stay tuned for more updates on the upcoming events of the Smart Water Detectives Programme!
Date: 18 March 2023 (Sat)
Time: 9:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Venue: Innovation Wing, HKU
First Workshop for Smart Water Detectives: A STEM Student Ambassador Programme
The First Workshop of the “Smart Water Detectives: A STEM Student Ambassador Programme” was held successfully on February 11 for 37 student ambassadors from 5 schools at the Innovation Wing. The workshop aimed to promote water literacy and to introduce the Internet of Things technologies.
Date: 11 February 2023 (Sat)
Time: 10:30am-12:00nn
Venue: Innovation Wing II, G/F Run Run Shaw Building, HKU
RTHK Interview | Hong Kong Connection
The Executive Director of our Centre, Dr. Frederick Lee, addressed the issues of water conservation in Hong Kong in a recent episode of Hong Kong Connection (鏗鏘集). He emphasised the importance of conserving water as one way for our city to contribute to the global sustainability agenda.
Dr. Lee also explained how a “Smart Meter Analyser” developed by our Centre’s research team could help provide insights into how water is being used in the domestic sector. He added that the findings of this project could help generate policy measures to induce water-conscious behaviors.
Innovation Wing II Exhibition
The Smart Water Auditing Project is now showcased in the Second Exhibition of Innovation Wing Two. Details of the exhibition are as follows:
Date: 6 January 2023 to 31 August 2023
Time: 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. on weekdays, and 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. on Saturdays
Venue: Innovation Wing II, G/F Run Run Shaw Building, HKU
All are welcome and admission is free.
Final Report of the ECF Student Ambassador Scheme
The ECF Student Ambassador Scheme was successfully completed in November 2022. This action-oriented, awareness-raising activity applied the knowledge of the Centre for Water Technology and Policy on conducting water auditing and a novel method of engagement, helped students gain new knowledge on domestic water-use behaviour and committed to creating behavioural changes for greater contribution to water conservation.
Below please find the final report:
Roundtable on “Water Reuse in the Northern Metropolis”
Date: 29 September 2022 (Thursday)
Time: 9:30am-1:00pm
Inter-disciplinary Forum-Smart Water Cities
The Inter-disciplinary Forum, co-organized by the Centre and the Water Supplies Department of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is designed to promote an exchange of innovative ideas among practitioners, policy-makers and research scientists on salient policy-technology interface issues in the urban water sector.
Date: 15 September 2022 (Thursday)
Time: 4:00pm-6:00pm
Format: Zoom
Language: English
Registration: Please click here
Webinar on “The 1963 Drought: Is it time to forget about it?”
Dr Frederick Lee, Executive Director of our Centre, will deliver a talk at a webinar organized by the Nanyang Technological University’s History and Hong Kong Research Hub. The title of his talk: “The 1963 Drought: Is it time to forget about it?”
Date: June 30, 2022 (Thursday)
Time: 4:30-6:00pm
Format: Zoom
Language: English
Registration: Please click here
Here is the abstract of his talk:
Abstract
The 1963 drought has played a central role in Hong Kong’s water history for about six decades, even though the city has by now become a completely different place—it has undergone fundamental transformations in its social, economic and political systems. Several world-class infrastructure projects have ensured that Hong Kongers have enjoyed uninterrupted water supply since 1982, making us oblivious to the fact that the city has been hit by episodes of droughts in the past four decades. There is every reason to believe that these projects will continue to insulate Hong Kong people from the impacts of droughts. The central thesis of this talk: The official narrative of Hong Kong’s water story has been anchored in the 1963 drought, but circumstances have changed. Thus, continuing to fear the spectre of drought-induced water-use restrictions runs the risk of our becoming prisoners of this entrenched narrative—blinded by outdated premises and overlooking the most pressing issues in water planning in the 21st century. It is time for us to contemplate alternative narratives that will help us address real challenges.
The Centre for Water Technology and Policy was awarded a HK$4.09M Strategic Public Policy Research Grant for a research project on Smart Water Auditing.
The Centre for Water Technology and Policy was awarded, in March 2022, a HK$4.09 million grant under the Strategic Public Policy Research Funding Scheme, administered by the Hong Kong SAR Government’s Policy Innovation and Co-ordination Office.
Date: March, 2022