16
Public Works and Utilities
THE WATER EMERGENCY MAY-DECEMBER 1963
THE year under review witnessed the remarkable spectacle of the great modern city of Hong Kong engaged in a desperate struggle reminiscent of earlier times and of more primitive societies—a struggle for water.
In fact, this was no new or isolated phenomenon. Geography has dictated that the Colony should be dependent on the rains which fall on its small land area; throughout the years this yield has been impounded in a system of reservoirs, whose capacity has expanded continually. Although the rainfall is seasonal, this natu- ral supply is nevertheless sufficient to afford a reasonable albeit rarely a generous-provision in average years. Rainfall, however, is all-important, and in 'below-average' years the situation has inevitably deteriorated, in very dry periods to the level of an emergency. Thus on three occasions during the last 100 years the Colony has had to meet its minimum needs by transporting water by sea. In this present instance the expansion and development of Hong Kong exaggerated earlier difficulties and intensified the ordeal.
Rainfall in 1963 was exceptionally low. From November 1962 until December 1963 the yield for each month was well below normal, the total rainfall for the 14 month period being only 36.80 inches, against an average of 87.44 inches. By the end of April, Government regarded the supply position as being poten- tially serious, although at that time it was reasonable to expect that the impending rainy season would bring relief. However, no improvement had taken place by the middle of May, and Govern- ment accordingly took steps to meet the deteriorating situation. The first step was to reconstitute the Water Supplies Emergency Committee, which had last functioned in 1955 and which now became responsible to Executive Council for all aspects of the emergency. Under the chairmanship of the Colonial Secretary this