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was reconstructed by the city waterworks in 1874, was again brought into use and dug out, after being completely silted up in the course of the intervening years. Moreover, even when the drought was at its worst, the Wong-nai-ch'ung stream never failed to flow. Doubtless it was this natural water supply which attracted the first settlers to the Happy Valley.
In 1841 there were estimated to be 5,650 Chinese in Hong Kong. The number of Europeans, then resident on the island, is not known; but it must have been very small. Ten years later, in 1851, the population had increased to a total of 32,983 souls, of whom 1,520 were non-Chinese; and in that year the Colony's first waterworks were constructed, namely, five wells for the city supply. Again, it is interesting to remark that during the recent emergency we have had to fall back upon the opening of wells in Happy Valley and elsewhere to eke out our failing supply from the reservoirs.
The next step was taken in 1860, when two tanks were constructed in Bonham Road for the city supply; and once again I note that tanks have during the recent emergency proved to be one of the most useful means of combatting the drought. The two tanks built in 1860 were, three years later, connected by an aqueduct with Pok-fu-lam, where in 1863 the Colony's first storage reservoir was completed. In that year the population of Hong Kong had increased to 124,850 souls, of whom 3,149 were Chinese.
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The Pok-fu-lam scheme, like so many of the Colony's water- works, was developed by successive stages. In 1863 the capacity of this reservoir was only two million gallons. In 1871 by recon- struction its storage was increased to 66 million gallons: and in 1895 an additional 4,400,000 gallons were impounded by the use of boards, making the total capacity of Pok-fu-lam reservoir 70,400,000 gallons. Meanwhile, in 1877, the conduit between Pok-fu-lam and the city was reconstructed; and, in 1890, four filter beds for this reservoir were built with an area of 1,360 square yards.
The second, and by far the largest, of the storage schemes on the island is that in the Tytam valley. The original section of this scheme was completed in 1889. It provided for a storage reservoir of 312,330,000 gallons, a tunnel 1.38 miles long, a conduit three miles long, and a service reservoir with a capacity of 5,700,000 gallons. In 1897 the dam was raised to impound an additional 72,470,000 gallons. The capacity of Tytam reservoir thus became 384,800,000 gallons, and by using boards this was further increased to a total of 407 million gallons. Meanwhile, in 1891, the Peak, which had previously been dependent on well water, was supplied from the city waterworks by pumping; and, in 1892, the city water- works distribution scheme was completed,
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In 1899 was completed the small Wong-nai-ch'ung reservoir with a capacity of 30,340,000 gallons, increased to 33,994,000 gallons by the use of boards; and in that year the total capacity of all storage reservoirs on the island, with boards in use, was 511,394,000 gallons. It is not now considered safe to increase the depth of water in the Pok-fu-lam and Wong-nai-ch'ung reservoirs by the use of boards. Both these old reservoirs leak and the leakage increases, when boards are fixed. Moreover, as Tytam reservoir now overflows into Tytam-tuk reservoir, the use of boards in connection with it has been discontinued. The total capacity of these reservoirs has thus been reduced from 511,394,000 gallons in 1899 to 481,140,000 gallons at the present day. The Colony's population in 1899 was 259,312 souls, of whom 15,822 were non- Chinese.
On the 16th April, 1899, the New Territories were taken over and the British flag was hoisted at Taipo. Prior to that day the land population of British Kowloon, which, according to the 1891 census, was 19,997 souls, had drawn its water supply entirely from wells, and the only waterworks undertaken by the Hong Kong Government on Kowloon peninsula had been the construction, in 1895, of three wells, north of Yaumati, to supply 250,000 gallons a day. But from 1899 onwards increasing attention was given to schemes for storing water on the mainland. The construction of the Kowloon reservoir and of the Kowloon waterworks gravitation scheme began in 1902 and was completed in 1910. Its storage capacity at overflow-level is 352 million gallons, but with the sluices down an additional 32 million gallons can be stored, making a total of 385 million gallons. Next followed, in 1925, the completion of the Shek-lai-pui reservoir, with a capacity of 116 million gallons; and meanwhile, in 1923, work began on the Sheng- mun valley scheme, which is still under construction, and about which I shall have more to say later on. Two small schemes on the mainland should, however, be mentioned at this point. In 1920 the Royal Hong Kong Golf Club requested Government to supply water to the links and club-houses at Fan-ling; and, as private residential development also had begun in the vicinity, a gravitation system was constructed to supply the district, water being obtained from a perennial stream to the west of the golf course. The distribution system now extends from Fan-ling village to Kam-tsin village and the average daily consumption this year has been about 17,000 gallons. It was further decided, in 1922, to place the Taipo water supply on a more satisfactory basis. Prior to that year houses in the neighbourhood of Taipo were supplied from sources of doubtful purity and Taipo Market itself was dependent on wells. An intake has now been formed in a large stream near Taipo; all cultivated ground above the intake has been resumed and the catchment area has been made into a forestry reserve. A 4" main has been laid and supplies Taipo Market and other villages as well as the residential buildings in the vicinity. The daily consumption at present amounts to 40,000 gallons.
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