M 42
# CONSERVANCY AND SEWERAGE
## DISPOSAL
134. The collection and disposal of night-soil in the Colony is carried out partly by the bucket system and partly by water carriage. With regard to the bucket system, arrangements were made with a contractor for the removal and disposal of excrement under conditions laid down by the Sanitary Board. During the year, this was altered when Government took over the collection of night-soil from the contractor.
135. The excrement is removed by night from the latrines to a special fleet of junks which convey it up river to China where it is utilised as manure for the mulberry trees on which the silk worms feed.
136. Owing to the limitations of the water supply on the Island and the need for economy in the matter of consumption, it is necessary to restrict the number of water closets served by the public mains.
137. Where a sufficiency of water can be obtained from other sources, such as wells or streams, and the conditions otherwise are suitable, water closets are allowed. With regard to effluents, some enter the public sewers direct, some pass to biological tank systems to be treated before final discharge.
## DRAINAGE
138. Drainage, both surface and subsoil, is controlled by the Public Works Department. $413,200 was entered in the 1934 Estimates for a programme which included drainage, training of nullahs, and sewerage. $100,000, which includes costs of resumption, was provided for anti-malaria works.
## WATER SUPPLIES
139. The water supplies of Hong Kong and Kowloon are in charge of the Water Works Branch of the Public Works Department.
140. All the water is surface water, and most of it is collected from catchment areas which are free from ordinary risks of pollution. The water, after storage for a longer or shorter period in impounding reservoirs, is filtered in some cases by slow sand filters, in others by the rapid system, and finally it is chlorinated.
141. Routine examinations are carried out by the Government Bacteriologist and Government Analyst, and the results furnished to the Water Authority. The results show that the water as supplied to the consumer is of excellent quality.