Communication with the Media

Response to Public Enquiries or Complaints

Community Relations for Capital Works Projects

Visit to DSD Facilities

Outreach Programme

Annoucement of Public Interest

Anti-flood Leaflets

DSD Homepage

Communication with the Media

Communication with the media is mainly carried out through the Public Relations Unit which aims at providing comprehensive and prompt response to all issues related to the services and works of the department. For issues of wide interests, the unit will arrange press conferences or issue press releases to inform the media and the public. Feature interviews with the media will also be arranged to promote the work and services of DSD.

Apart from these, the unit maintains regular and close contacts with media reporters and editors through annual meet-the-media briefings, press briefings, technical visits, occasional lunch meetings, and to exchange views and discuss hot topics and recent development of the department. In addition, media training courses are organised for in-house professional staff to enhance their communication and presentation skill with the mass media through theory and simulation practice.

Response to Public Enquiries or Complaints

The department welcomes enquiries, comments or complaints from the public on the work or services provided by DSD. They are received through different channels such as by letter, fax, telephone or e-mail. We promise to handle all these incoming messages appropriately and promptly. The department's Performance Pledge explicitly lists out our performance targets and indicators and monitor them for improved performance.

DSD carries out customer feedback survey to collect the public's views on the service of clearing blocked drains and sewers after receiving complaints. We pledge to respond to calls of services within 24 hours and, since May 2000, further enhance our services by calling back the complainants after completing the clearing work on site. In order to facilitate checking of results by the complainants, we intend to give the complainants an assigned complaint number for each complaint case.

Community Relations for Capital Works Projects

Apart from the usual communication channels, staff of capital works divisions will enhance the communication with the affected groups before and during the construction stage of a particular project. Engineers responsible for the project will meet the affected groups including local residents or shop operators in the planning stage to explain the aim and details of the project, and the works sequence during the construction stage. After receiving the feedback, we would revise our plan as necessary.

Leaflet giving the details of the works will be published and distributed to the affected residents and shop operators to enhance their understanding of the work and the benefits it brings. The project staff will keep communicating with the affected people during construction stage and resolve any issues arisen from the works during construction. Community-friendly road signs are erected on site to help road-users and pedestrians to understand the temporary traffic diversion, if any.

Visit to DSD Facilities

The large sewage treatment plants in HK, such as Shatin STW, Tai Po STW, Yuen Long STW and Stanley STW are open for visit by schools, and related organizations. The younger generations are given the opportunity to learn about the concept of sewage collection, treatment and disposal and to appreciate the importance of sewage treatment and its contribution towards a better environment.

DSD organises open days at large STWs for the general public in order to communicate with them the department’s effort in sewage collection, treatment and disposal.

Outreach Programme

We implemented an outreach programme during which professional engineers and chemists visited secondary schools to introduce to the audience the flood prevention work and sewage treatment and disposal. They also shared their experience in these works through discussions of some hot topics in the Q&A session. We had successfully visited 53 schools during the period of September 1999 to October 2000 and received positive feedbacks from the schools that it was an invaluable opportunity for the students to discuss current issues with professional engineers.

Announcement of Public Interest

In order to call for the assistance of the public to help prevent floods in the urban area, an Announcement of Public Interest on minimizing blockage of drains was produced and broadcast on TV before and during the rainy season. Members of the public can call the one-stop complaints hotline "2300 1110" for reporting flooding and blockages in sewers or drains.

Anti-flood Leaflets

The department has installed flood warning systems for the low-lying villages in the NT. The systems help monitor the water levels of nearby rivers in various locations and inform the villagers when the water level rises to a pre-determined level. The department publishes and distributes anti-flooding leaflets to villagers to educate them what they should and should not do when it floods and how the flood warning systems function so as to protect them from danger.

DSD Homepage

A new version of DSD Homepage was successfully uploaded in mid 2000, which is more reader-friendly and informative for different users including the public, students, contractors and suppliers for viewing and exploration. We pledge to keep the website updating and any news will be uploaded as soon as possible under the NEWS column through the form of press release or other bulletins. An e-mail address is printed on the first page of the website welcoming any views on DSD or our works from the public.