Mai Po Logo: Pied Kingfisher |
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Dredging on the Deep Bay mudflats
 
Please click on the above map icon
to see
the enlarged version of the map.
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From June to
October 2003, Highways Department has arranged for a contractor
to de-silt the water channel that runs from the sluice gate
of gei wai 17 at Mai Po Nature Reserve, out through
the inter-tidal mangroves and to the edge of the mudflat where
it meets Deep Bay. This work is part of the enhancement measures
proposed under the Environmental Impact Assessment study of
the 'Shenzhen Western Corridor' project to abate the sediment
deposition problem in Mai Po and to enhance the Deep Bay ecological
environment as a whole. The proposed Shenzhen Western Corridor
will be the fourth road boundary crossing spanning across Deep
Bay connecting Ngau Hom Shek in the Hong Kong SAR and Shekou
in Shenzhen. |
The decision to de-silt the water channel
from gei wai 17 was agreed by government because gei wai 17 forms
part of the 'Scrape', which is the most important site for roosting waterbirds
at Mai Po. However, since the mid-1940s when the Mai Po gei wai were
built, the water channels have gradually silted up, making water exchange increasingly
difficult. The project to de-silt the channel is therefore urgently needed.
The
work will be done by an amphibious grab dredger, either fitted
with a closed grab or a backhoe (depending on the condition
of the mud), starting from the southern edge of the Deep
Bay mudflat and working in towards the mangroves and the
sluice gate of gei wai 17. Following the dredger will
be a barge where all the dredged mud will be placed and taken
off-site for disposal at a designated confined marine disposal
area east of Sha Chau. |
Picture of the type of amphibious
dredger that
will be used for de-silting the water channel
of gei wai 17.
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The schedule for this work was planned to
be conducted in summer and autumn, and will be completed before November 2003
in order to minimise any impacts on the wildlife, especially the wintering
waterbirds in Deep Bay. During the project, staff from Highway Department (HyD),
AFCD, EPD and WWF Hong Kong will be making regular visits to the works to ensure
that it is being carried out according to plan and that there are minimal impacts.
As a result, anyone visiting Tsim Bei Tsui
from this month (June 2003), may see the dredger being set and operating. If
you need any further information on the project, then please contact Mai Po
Nature Reserve (e-mail: maipo@wwf.org.hk ;
Tel: 2471-6306) and if we cannot provide all the answers, then we will pass
your comments onto the relevant government department to reply.
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