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Chapter 10.
PUBLIC UTILITIES.
The Colony's water supply is undertaken by the Public Works Department of the Government. The generation of electric power is in the hands of two private companies, one of which operates on the island of Hong Kong and one in Kowloon and the New Territories. Domestic gas is supplied on both sides of the harbour by the Hong Kong and China Gas Co., Ltd.
Water.
There are no large rivers or underground sources of water and the Colony has to depend for its water supply on the collection in impounding reservoirs of the rains falling on upland gathering grounds. These reservoirs are thirteen in number and collect the heavy south-west monsoon rains between May and September. Little rain falls in the remain- ing months of the year, so that the storage necessary to provide for an all-the-year-round supply and for occasional droughts is relatively heavy. The total capacity of existing reservoirs is 5,970 million gallons, only 2,362 of which are on the Island. Of the 3,608 million gallons on the mainland, 2,921 are con- tained in the Jubilee Reservoir at Shing Mun. This reservoir is the largest in the Colony and the dam forming it is the tallest in the Empire. To augment the run-off from areas draining directly into the reservoirs about 33 miles of catch- water channels have been constructed on the hillsides to lead the water from other areas, normally draining elsewhere, into the reservoirs. About 40% of the Island consumption is supplied from the mainland reservoirs, the water being con- veyed across the harbour in two 21" diameter submarine pipes. On account of the hilly nature of the Island a big percentage of the water has to be pumped, and in some areas re-pumped, necessitating a large number of pumps and service reservoirs. Most of the water supplied is both filtered and purified by chemical treatment and a satisfactory standard of purity is maintained. All water is supplied to consumers through meters and the charge is based on the total cost of provision including capital charges.
On the re-occupation in September, 1945, it was found that no serious damage had been sustained by the reservoirs but plant and piping had suffered severely. Six electric centrifugal pumps installed in 1939 had disappeared, together with a complete new rapid gravity filtration plant capable of handling 8,000,000 gallons of water per day; much of the waste detection equipment was gone; a great deal of piping had been removed from outlying areas and leakage was pre- valent; 30% of the meters were missing, and nearly all the fire hydrants were out of action; the catchwater system and