Environmental Protection Bureau (DSPA) officials said at a closed-door meeting yesterday that because cross-connected drains and illegal sewage discharges cause poor water quality and waterfront stench around Macau’s harbors, the bureau implemented sewage interception projects alongside temporary wastewater treatment facilities from 2019 to 2024. These measures reduced pollutant concentrations near the Areia Preta district’s waterfront by over 80 percent, achieved a 50-to-80 percent pollutant reduction near the Outer Harbor’s coastal waters, and cut pollutant concentrations near the Inner Harbor coast by about 60 percent.
The DSPA officials made the remarks during a closed-door meeting with members of the government-appointed Northern District Community Service Consultative Council at the Patane Municipal Market Complex (沙梨頭街市市政綜合大樓).
Briefing reporters after yesterday’s meeting, Chan Ian Ian, deputy convenor of the government-appointed council, noted that the 2025 comprehensive water quality assessment index for local coastal waters stood at 0.49. Meanwhile, the Inner Harbour area recorded 0.54 – well below 1.0 – which denotes good water quality.
According to the index, 0.0 to 1.0 indicates a low level of pollution, while exceeding the threshold of 1.0 indicates serious pollution.
Chan pointed out that Macau harbours’ heavy metal indices ranged between 0.03 and 0.04, indicating extremely low levels of heavy metal pollution. However, due to Macau’s geographical location, continuous sediment accumulation in local waters causes turbidity, a condition attributed to natural geographical constraints rather than pollution, she said.
Meanwhile, the bureau expanded water quality monitoring points from 12 in 2020 to 25 currently, with regular sampling and testing of seawater and seabed sediments, and installed three 24/7 real-time automatic water quality monitoring stations, Ian said.
Fellow council member Fu U On added that Macau’s five permanent conventional wastewater treatment plants and two temporary treatment plants are operating already, while one on the man-made island where the Macau checkpoint of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge is located is still under construction.
In 2025, three biological treatment lines at the Taipa wastewater treatment plant were optimised to enhance treatment efficiency, Fu said, adding that the upgrade of the Coloane Wastewater Treatment Plant is progressing as Macau strengthens its wastewater treatment network.
Northern District Community Service Consultative Council Deputy Convener Chan Ian Ian (right) and fellow council member Fu U On look on during yesterday’s press briefing after the government-appointed council’s closed-door meeting at the Patane Municipal Market Complex (沙梨頭街市市政綜合大樓). – Photo: Ida Cheong
