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PUBLIC WORKS AND UTILITIES
Kong and New Kowloon, while materials were ordered for exten- sions in the Sai Kung area.
The demand for water reached a new peak of 193.6 million gallons per day in the unusually hot summer weather. This indicated an annual increase well in excess of the seven per cent anticipated; the 1968-9 winter average of 135 million gallons per day was 18 per cent more than the figure recorded during the winter of 1967-8 and the average for the whole year was 14.5 per cent higher than that for 1968.
During the year a total of 56.982 million gallons of water were supplied which indicated an increase of 7,136 million gallons over the 1968 figure and represented an average 'per capita' consumption for the year of 155.8 million gallons per day excluding water consumed for water borne sanitation which is normally obtained from wells or from the salt water distribution system which supplied 10,800 million gallons in the year 1969.
This increase reflects the general healthy state and the growth of industry throughout the Colony as well as increasing affluence and standards of living. The total number of metered connections rose from 280,000 at the end of 1968 to 360,000 at the end of 1969.
With the virtual completion of the Plover Cove scheme the emphasis of the construction programme was upon the provision of additional filtration and distribution capacity to ensure continued adequate supplies of good water.
Local distribution problems were eased with the completion of the 30 million gallons capacity'Shek Kip Mei service reservoir and the first section of the Ho Man Tin (East) service reservoir with a current usable capacity of 14 million gallons.
Two fresh water service reservoirs, of 14 million gallons and 1.5 million gallons capacity, two salt water service reservoirs, of 750,000 gallons and 150,000 gallons capacity together with a small pumping station were completed to augment the water supply facilities already provided for the rapidly developing Tsuen Wan area.
Irrigation works continued with the construction of 22,000 feet of irrigation channels, 13 irrigation dams and the sinking of a 200 feet deep well at Fung Yuen to accommodate an eight-inch diameter submersible pump.