The AA’s "triple water system" helps reduce the airport’s freshwater demand by over 50% each year.
Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) is well equipped with large-scale water-saving facilities, and the airport implements a number of measures to minimise daily water usage.
HKIA adopts a "triple water system" to improve the efficiency of our three major water sources: freshwater, seawater and treated wastewater.
Seawater is used for flushing toilets, and is also used as the cooling medium in the air-conditioning systems of major airport buildings. Seawater is an infinitely renewable resource and it substantially reduces our use of potable water.
We recover wastewater from terminal building kitchens, washroom sinks, and aircraft catering and cleaning activities, then we treat it for use in landscape irrigation.
Since 2006 our wastewater treatment plant has treated over 10 million cubic metres of wastewater, meeting the irrigation needs of all of the landscaped area on the airport island. This "triple water system" helps us reduce our freshwater demand by over 50% each year.
HKIA’s measures to manage sewage and storm water discharges include:
The Airport Authority regularly monitors HKIA's impact on the marine environment caused by sewage and storm water discharges. Results indicate that cooling water and storm drain discharges from the airport do not have an adverse impact on local water quality.
HKIA is committed to ensuring that all drinking water meets World Health Organisation standards, as well as local standards set by the Department of Health. To ensure compliance, we manage comprehensive, ongoing maintenance and cleaning efforts covering all drinking fountains in the terminals.
2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total volume of wastewater recycled / reused (m3) | 140,000 | 192,000 | 156,000 | 182,000 | 218,000 | 155,500 | 178,867 | 204,475 |
Estimated volume of seawater used for flushing (m3) | 2.5 million | 2.6 million | 2.7 million | 2.8 million | 2.9 million | 3.1 million | 3.0 million | 3.47 million |
Volume of seawater used for cooling (m3) | 107 million | 124 million | 126 million | 117 million* | 105 million* | 108 million* | 112 million | 116 million |
* Chiller seawater demand is reduced after enhancement projects