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LAND, PUBLIC WORKS AND UTILITIES
Water Works
The water distribution system continued to be extended and enlarged to meet urban and rural demands in the territory. This included expansion of the distribution network to supply remote villages in the New Territories.
Construction work for the Ma On Shan Treatment Works, Au Tau Treatment Works Stage II and Sham Tseng Treatment Works Stage I; and extension of the Sheung Shui Treatment Works and Yau Kom Tau Treatment Works were in progress.
Planning for the major new treatment works at Ngau Tam Mei was completed. Further planning was underway for the improvement of system capacity to meet the demand from new developments in central and western Hong Kong Island, Sham Tseng, Kwun Tong, Yau Tong, Tsing Yi, Yuen Long, Tin Shui Wai, the northwestern New Territories and Ma On Shan. =
Design work for additional service reservoirs, pumping stations and water supply networks for the areas of Shek Kip Mei, Yau Kam Tau and Tsuen Wan was completed while work was still in progress for Tseung Kwan O, Tsing Yi, Tuen Mun and the Western Mid-Levels. Design work also continued for the improvement of the water supply to the metropolitan southeastern areas of Kowloon, the enhancement of the Tai Tam Tuk Pumping Station and the major renovation of the sea water supply system for central Kowloon.
Work on the permanent water supply system for the new airport at Chek Lap Kok and other developments in North Lantau associated with the Port and Airport Development Strategy was being implemented in stages. The Stage I works, to be commissioned by mid- 1996, include submarine and land mains, a water treatment works, pumping stations, a service reservoir and an aqueduct between Siu Ho Wan and Silvermine Bay.
Work was also in progress to replace gas chlorination plants by on-site hypochlorite generation plants at salt water pumping stations, to reduce risks associated with chlorine storage. Hazard assessments on the chlorination installations of five small treatment works were carried out. Design work for the extension of the Tai Lam Chung Prechlorination House was completed.
Water Accounts and Customer Relations
The number of the Water Supplies Department's consumer accounts continued to rise at a rate of about two per cent and the consumer account base expanded to approximately 2.05 million accounts at the end of 1994.
Computer systems were widely employed to provide efficient enquiry services; to handle applications for water supply and change of consumer particulars; and to issue demand notes for water charges, connection fees and water deposits.
An Interactive Voice Response System was introduced in April to provide a round-the- clock enquiry service on water supply matters.
Efforts to promote the autopay service continued, and the number of consumer accounts using autopay for payment of water charges reached 263 000, or about 13 per cent of all
consumers.
Since December 1993, consumers have been also able to pay water bills through the Payment by Phone Service (PPS). The number of consumer accounts using this service reached 75 000 at the end of 1994, or about four per cent of all consumers.