Authorities warned on Thursday that sewage leaked into the waters in "Hong Kong's back garden" as Typhoon Mangkhut has damaged sai Kung treatment facility. Drainage officials said it could take months to fix the facility, while they estimated they need about three weeks to repair the pipes in Southern District.
The announcement was made after drainage officials inspected the facilities following the typhoon.
The officials also warned the public to stay away from the five beaches nearby - Deep Water Bay and Shek O in Southern District, and Kiu Tsui Beach, Hap Mun Beach and Trio Beach in Sai Kung. These beaches have been closed since Mondays as they need to get cleaned up for debris and to repair shark prevention nets after the typhoon.
It's possible that marine life in Sai Kung could face disaster if the problem persists, environmentalists said.
"There is rich marine life and a coral reef off Kiu Tsui and Shelter Island. The organic contaminants that could flow into the sea could [create] red tides. Red tides can kill fish by depleting the oxygen in the water. If the problem lingers, it can lead to serious consequences," said WWF-Hong Kong's senior conservation officer, Angel Lam Yin-ha.
Officials also found that, at Sai Kung Sewage Treatment Works, some of the pipes and treatment facilities were seriously damaged. The plant could now only handle its "primary sewage treatment service," which sees solid waste removed by filtering and removal of grit and a sedimentation process.
"As a temporary measure, an additional disinfection process has been arranged for the primary treated sewage being bypassed for nearshore discharge, so as to minimize the impact to nearby waters," a government statement said on Thursday.
The Drainage Services Department noted it would build a temporary pipe within one or two weeks to safely move some of the treated sewage.
Meanwhile, in Southern District on Hong Kong Island, there are three sections of mains water pipes that had also broken which lead to "the discharge of sewage," officials said. The three sections include and a 300mm (12 inches) diameter pipe near Shek O, a 450mm (18 inches) diameter pipe near Mills and Chung Path, and a 150mm (6 inches) diameter pipe near Deep Water Bay barbecue area.
According to the South China Morning Post, there's already a notice warning the public at Shek O on Thursday afternoon regarding the sewage leak saying the beach was closed for "maintenance of the shark prevention net." However, there are still some people missed the warning and went swimming at the beach.
"If I'd have heard the warning or some concern about the sewage spilling into the sea here, I wouldn't come here," said Amnon Barenboim, who is an Israeli tourist.
