CO129-540-5 Water supply- Shing Mun Valley Waterworks scheme 11-5-1932 - 7-12-1932 — Page 115

HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL.

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Kowloon-Canton Railway (British Section) Annual Report for

1931.

Report of the Committee appointed to inquire into the whole question of Government Launches (Sessional Paper No. 3 of 1932).

QUESTIONS.

HON. MR. R. H. KOTEWALL asked:-

1. In view of the great hardship which residents of the rider-main districts are suffering in having to obtain their water supply from the street fountains in this hot weather, will the Government, as an experiment, restore the supply to the houses in these districts on the same restriction in respect of hours of supply, so as to give the people an opportunity to prove that, in the present acute state of the water situation, they are able to keep down consumption of water obtained through such direct supply, to the same level as that through the street supply; on the understanding that every effort is made by the three Chinese members of the Legislative Council to impress upon the people the imperative necessity for conserving every drop of water, and that the street supply will be reverted to, should it be found that the consumption of a direct house supply appreciably exceeds that of a street supply?

2. Will the Government state whether any houses in the rider-main districts have been disconnected from the rider- mains and, if so, will it give the reasons for its action, in view of the statement made by His Excellency the Governor, Sir Cecil Clementi, in this Council on the 23rd September, 1929, (Hansard 1929, p. 232), namely:

"It will, of course, be impossible to discard the rider- main system until there is an assured supply of water available both on the island and on the mainland through- out the year; and the Government will certainly give this Council an opportunity to debate the matter before the rider-mains are abolished"?

THE COLONIAL SECRETARY replied:-

1. The Government does not feel justified in reopening the rider-mains. The Director of Public Works has a scheme under consideration by which a longer period of supply can be given from street fountains, while a shorter supply will be made available for those on metered supplies. It is hoped that this scheme will be ready for operation in the course of the next few days. It is not considered safe to allow unmetered supplies in houses until the position improves.

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