Storage
10.08. Water in the impounding reservoirs at various dates was as follows:
Date Quantity in million gallons (m.g.) Due from Shum Chun (m.g.) Total (m.g.) Remarks 1. 4.63 4,560 918 5,278 33.2% full 26. 6.63 1,327 187 1,514 9.5% full (min.) 24. 9.63 4,780 ... 4,750 30.0% full (max. in Colony's Reservoirs) 1.10.63 4,740 4,740 29.9% full 18.10.63 4,508 1,400 5,908 37.2% full (max. incl. Shum Chun) 31. 3.64 3,647 24 3,671 23.0%These figures emphasize the effect of the drought conditions observing that in a normal year all reservoirs may be expected to overflow simultaneously at some period throughout the year. The total storage capacity including Shek Pik is 15,860 m.g. and the maximum ever held in store during the year was 30% of this figure and the maximum including water promised from the Shum Chun Reservoir was 37.2%.
Consumption
10.09. The total quantity of water consumed in the urban areas was 13,596 m.g. and in the New Territories 512 m.g. which were 53% and 58% respectively of the figures for the previous year. A total of 506 hours of supply was given which is 21.4% of the 1962-63 figure of 2,371. This represents an average of 1.4 hours per day.
MAINTENANCE AND DISTRIBUTION
10.10. Despite the drought conditions, new development was not unduly delayed. Although the supply of water for construction purposes was limited by the restrictions, these difficulties were overcome to a large extent by the developers and contractors who made utmost use of wells and stream flows. The Public Works Department also sank a number of wells in the urban areas and sold the untreated water.
10.11. Due to the severe restrictions the usual comparison of consumption with previous years, to illustrate the growth of demand, was not possible except for a short period in May. In 1962 a four hour daily supply resulted in a consumption of 61 million gallons per day compared with 62 for a 3 hour supply in 1963.
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