Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) has long been well equipped with large-scale water-saving facilities, and the airport takes a number of measures to minimise its daily water usage.

Total water management

We adopt a "triple water supply" approach to improve the efficiency of our three major water sources: freshwater, seawater and treated wastewater.

Seawater is used for flushing toilets. It is also used as the cooling medium in the air-conditioning systems of major airport buildings.

We recover wastewater from terminal building kitchens, washroom sinks, and aircraft catering and cleaning activities, and then we treat it for use in landscape irrigation. In October 2012, we increased our daily capacity for making wastewater suitable for irrigation four-fold to 6,000 cubic metres.

This "triple water supply" approach helps us reduce our freshwater demand by over 50% each year.

Preventing marine pollution

HKIA has a series of measures in place for sewage and storm water discharges. They include:

• Deploying extensive petrol / oil interceptors in areas where a pollution risk exists, including several large-capacity (10,000 litres) units covering apron areas;
• Installing spill traps at stormwater outfalls; and
• Discharging storm water away from the potentially sensitive southern sea channel.

We regularly monitor HKIA's impact on the marine environment. Results indicate that cooling water and storm drain discharges from the airport do not have an adverse impact on local water quality.

Clean potable water

HKIA is committed to ensuring that all drinking water meets World Health Organization 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.

Water management performance

* Chiller seawater demand is reduced after enhancement projects