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P.W.E. New Territories.
The scheme has been divided into five sections which will be proceeded with as the requirements of the Colony demand.
The 1st Section comprises the construction of the necessary aqueducts, tunnels, and the reception reservoir for raw water to cope with the yield of the fully developed scheme. Filtration plant, service reservoirs, and a pipe line to deal with 5 million gallons daily are provided for in the meantime, but admit of extension when necessity arises.
This section will deal with the normal flow of the Shing Mun River, which will be diverted above Pineapple Pass into the permanent conduits and tunnels by means of a temporary channel. An access road, 1.92 miles in length, from Tsun Wan to Pineapple Pass is also included in this section and is more fully described later.
The 2nd Section deals with the construction of three impounding reservoirs in the upper Shing Mun Valley, having an estimated total capacity of 2,000 million gallons, catchwaters discharging through Lead Mine Pass, and the necessary extension to the filter plant, while a 2nd trunk main would also probably be required under this section.
The 3rd Section involves the construction of a large catchwater draining 2,575 acres of the Southern face of Tai Mo Shan from Tsun Lung Village to Pineapple Pass where it will discharge into the Shing Mun Valley. Two storage reservoirs near Tsun Lung, having an aggregate capacity of about 340 million gallons, would also be constructed to control the flood water discharge in the catchwater, while further additions to the filtering plant and to the trunk mains would also have to be made.
These 3 sections complete the gravity portion of the Scheme and are estimated to provide a minimum daily yield of 11 million gallons.
The 4th Section consists of an Access Road from the Tai Wai Village to the mouth of the North Tunnel, two storage reservoirs having an aggregate capacity of 2,100 million gallons, catchwaters draining the Eastern slopes of Needle and Grassy Hills, and a pumping station at Tai Wai with rising mains to the mouth of the North Tunnel.
The 5th Section is a very doubtful one and may never materialise. It projects the development of the Gin Drinkers Bay Valley by forming a large dam across the estuary with the necessary pumps and mains to deliver the water into the South Tunnel. An estimated yield of 5 million gallons daily may be expected from this source, but this quantity is additional to the 17 million gallons already alluded to.