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end of the dry season it is quite possible if sufficient care is not exercised to empty one system of reservoirs altogether, thus making the distribution problem worse than ever. It might be thought that once set these areas could be left set, but unfortunately firstly, the demands of the different areas do not increase proportionately and secondly, the reserves in the various service reservoirs are not pro- portionate to the areas supplied, nor as was pointed out above are they in any area really large enough.
METERING.
It is the policy of the Hong Kong Waterworks that all consumers' supplies except fire hydrants, street washing, and stand-pipes in poor districts should be metered. This requires an extensive staff for installing and reading the meters, a large accounting staff to record the details and make out the bills and an extensive workshop for the repair and maintenance of meters.
There were 25,003 meters in use at the end of the last financial year, and during the year over 20,000 meters were repaired and tested. The present aim is to test every meter after it has passed a certain predetermined amount of water, and at least once a year. To accommodate the increasing number of meters to be handled a new workshop was completed this year, with bench space for 52 fitters working on repairs, a leather bay for preparing the leather washers and packings, a test bay where meters up to 6 ins. diameter can be tested under mains pressure and an outgoing bay where they are painted and sealed. A similar workshop is to be provided in Kowloon in a new Depot which is to be built next year.
In addition to the workshop repairs, light vans provided with the necessary tools tour the districts with fitters who investigate com- plaints and if the fault is slight they repair the meter on the site without returning it to the workshop.
ADMINISTRATION.
The waterworks is administered under the Director as an office of the Public Works Department, and its authority is provided by the Waterworks Ordinance No. 20 of 1938.
The office is in the charge of the Waterworks Engineer, and under him the administration is subdivided under two Engineers in charge of Island Supply and Mainland Supply respectively, a Mechanical Engineer in charge of pumping plant and workshop, and a Construc- tion Engineer responsible for design and construction of new works. In addition an Accountant supervises the Accounts Office and general clerical work.
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The Supply Engineers are responsible for the administration and supply in their areas. Assisted by Waterworks Inspectors they are responsible for the operation of the reservoirs and filters; the control of main laying gangs, all pipe laying being carried out departmentally; house service supplies and inspections; and are generally responsible for seeing that the provisions of the Ordinance are adhered to in all new work and existing supplies.
The Mechanical Engineer supervises the running of the pumping stations to the requirements of the Supply Engineers, and is also responsible for the workshop. The workshop is capable of dealing departmentally with most of the repairs and maintenance work re- quired, and in addition does a considerable amount of work for other offices of the Public Works Department and also other Government Departments. The main workshop at Bullock Lane, Wanchai, is most unsatisfactory and many of the machines are old and out of date. Plans for a new workshop are in hand and new machinery has been ordered, a few machines having already been delivered.
The Construction Engineer is in charge of the Engineering, Survey and Drawing Office staff engaged on design and construction of new works. This includes the preliminary investigations for new works including surveys, borings, and stream recordings followed by the design, preparation of plans and specifications, and later by the supervision of the contract for erection, to the time when the new scheme is handed over to the Supply Engineer ready to go into use.
The Waterworks is self-financing. Its revenue is received from the charges for water consumed, together with 2% on the General Rates to cover the cost of Public Services, such as fire fighting, cleans- ing etc. The total revenue for 1947/48 was $6,788,751, of which $5,591,010 came from chargeable water. Before the war a distinction was made between water delivered to a consumer by gravity and that requiring pumping, but this method has now been abolished in favour of the much simpler system of charging an average rate to all domestic and trade consumers, namely $0.80 per 1000 gallons, and water for building and shipping $2.00. Prior to the war rents were also charged for meters, but this too has how been abolished. All the records and billing are made out in the Waterworks Office, though the actual cash payments are made directly to the Treasury.
CONCLUSION.
Such then is a very brief outline of the Waterworks as it exists to-day. It is a fair criticism in face of the figures therein, that in almost all departments the facilities available are woefully inadequate, though the historical preface alone has, it is hoped, shown that this is in no way the fault of the Engineers at various times in charge of the office. No one could foresee the various influxes of population which have quite upset the calculations of future population trends.
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