Q 39
P.W.R. Hongkong.
Though the rainfall for the year amounted to 79.855 inches (Observatory record), it was very unfortunately distributed from a waterworks point of view, as fully 45 inches fell in May and June and only 24.71 inches during the last six months of the year. During the last three months of the year, the entire rainfall amounted to less than 1 inch.
The result of this was that, at the commencement of the dry season, all the old reservoirs, with the exception of Tytam Intermediate, which had not been drawn upon, were below over-flow level, whilst the new low-level reservoir at Tytam Tuk, in course of construction, only contained 211 million gallons whereas it was capable of containing 367 million gallons.
The entire contents of all the reservoirs, including the new one, amounted on the 30th September to 755.65 million gallons, that being the maximum quantity reached during the Autumn of 1916.
The total quantity of water remaining in the reservoirs at the end of the year, inclusive of 182.25 million gallons in the Low Level Reservoir, in course of construction, amounted to 430.16 million gallons.
The new pumping engines were in course of erection during the year, but, as they were not available for steady running, practically all the pumping required had to be executed with the two engines which were erected in 1908.
The latter were in operation from the 1st January until the 26th March, from the 13th May until the 1st June, and from the 19th October until the close of the year, a total of 180 days.
One of the new engines was tested to the extent of running 5,000 revolutions (about 3 hours work) before the close of the year.
The total quantity of water pumped during the year amounted to 324.77 million gallons.
The following is a comparative statement of the cost of pumping during the years 1915 and 1916:
Tytam Tuk Pumping Station.
1915 1916 $ $ Coal, Wages, 6,665.00 * 4,138.20 19,265.77 4,176.73 * Miscellaneous, including repairs and stores other than coal, 4,785.30 † 1,266.03 Total, 15,588.56 § 24,708.53*This is the value of the coal consumed during the year. Coal to the value of $6,286.25 was carried forward from 1915 to 1916 and coal to the value of $3,852.00 was carried forward from 1916 to 1917.
†This sum included $1,996.68 for 5 new valve-plates for the engines, $941.70 for 64 gunmetal valves in connection with same, and $538.31 for 33 valve-spindles for the mains, amounting to a total of $3,476.69.
§This figure was erroneously given as $14,974.81 in last year's Report.