Directory_and_Chronicle_1934 — Page 955

HONGKONG

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in 1899, has a capacity of 30 million gallons. A bye-wash reservoir of about 22 million gallons capacity, situated immediately below the overflow of the Tytam reservoir, was completed in 1903, and a dam at Tytam Tuk to impound 194 million gallons was completed in 1909. A further extension of these waterworks was completed in 1917 at a cost of about $2,400,000, making provision for impounding an additional 1,419 million gallons of water. This was expected to meet the needs of the Colony for another fifteen years but experience in dry seasons shewed that it was barely adequate and a project was started to dam the Shing Mun river and to tap practically the whole of the Eastern and Southern slopes of Tai Mo Shan. This scheme was sanctioned by the Secretary of State in June, 1924, and the work slowly progressed. The newly developed catchment area includes 8,500 acres, or 13 square miles. It was proposed originally to build nine storage reservoirs, varying in size from 55 million to 1,700 million gallons and having an aggregate capacity of 4,500 million gallons, of which 2,400 million gallons, or rather more than the whole storage capacity in the Island of Hongkong, would be stored in gravity, and the remainder would be in pumping reservoir. The water will be conveyed through the Kowloon hills by open conduit and two tunnels, the latter being 2,400 and 4,350 feet in length, respectively. It was intended that the water should be brought down from the Filtered Water Reservoir by 24-inch trunk mains, which were to be laid in the bed of the harbour from Kowloon Point and discharge into a Service Re- servoir, probably under the Public Gardens. The scheme was somewhat modi- fied but no very great difficulties were experienced until the question arose as to the best method of conveying the water across the harbour. Early in 1929 Mr. Henderson, the assistant director of Public Works, went Home to consult engineering authorities as to the best method of doing this, with a result that his own scheme was approved and he hurried back to put the work in hand. The water is conveyed across to Hongkong in a pipe line laid on the bed of the harbour. The total length of this pipe is nearly 1 miles. The pipe, of Lap welded steel, has an internal diameter of 12.265 and is 7/16" thick. It is protected by a double hessian wrapping impregnated with bitumastic solution. It has a discharging capacity of 34 million gallons per day at 280 feet above sea level. The pipe line was formally opened on 31st March, 1930, by the Hon. Mr. W. T. Southorn, C.M.G., who was at that time the Officer Administering the Government.

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In 1929 the construction of the Kowloon Byewash Reservoir, immediately below the Kowloon Reservoir, was begun and will be finished in 1931, thereby adding a further 180 million gallons to Kowloon's storage. This dam will have a maximum height of over 100 feet.

In 1926 the Aberdeen Valley was investigated as a further source of supply for the Island of Hongkong and in 1929 work was commenced. The Scheme included the construction of a dam 110. ft. in height impounding about 180 million gallons. The existing Aberdeen Paper works dam having a capacity of about 90 million gallons was purchased by Government and was incor- porated in the Scheme.

A steel pipe line 18 ins. in diameter was laid to the Elliot Filter Beds above West Point, where a Rapid Gravity Filtration Plant was erected, capable of dealing with 4 million gallons daily

Two large catchwaters were also included in the Scheme, which add a minimum of 2.1 million gallons per day to the Island's Supply.

The Shing Mun Valley dam, one of the largest in the Far East, is now under «construction and will be completed in 1938. It will be used as a storage for the

enormous quantity of water which annually runs to waste from that Valley.

The natural productions of the Colony are few and unimportant. There is little land suitable for tillage, and nothing is grown but a little rice and some vegetables near the outlying villages. There are large granite quarries, both on the island and in Kowloon, and there is a small export of this stone. A bed of fire clay exists at Deep Water Bay, and bricks and earthenware pipes are manufactured from it. The forests now growing up may one day become a source of revenuc, when sufficiently extensive, from the periodical thinnings.