Sessional_Paper_1904 — Page 282

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to Appendix H. will show that the additional power was required in order to cope with the demands of the High Level District, in which a great increase of population has occurred during the past few years as the result of the erection of numerous houses.

Mount Gough Service Reservoir having been completed, was brought into operation in ctober in connection with the Hill District supply and has proved of great service. The houses on Barker Road, including the new Victoria Hospital, and those at Magazine Gap are now supplied from this source.

Advantage was taken of Pokfulam Reservoir being practically empty in the early part of the year to remove from the bottom of it all silt and soft material. As measured in boxes, when deposited in the bye-wash, the total quantity of material removed amounted to 13,770 cubic yards.

The temporary pumping plant established at Tytam Tuk was brought into operation on the 1st November and yielded 20 million gallons up to the close of the year. Several bursts occurred in the rising main in the early stages of pumping, but repairs were effected and measures adopted to strengthen the parts which had failed, with the result that no further accident of this nature occurred.

The number of meters in use at the end of the year was 534 in the City and 151 in the Hill District.

The quantity of water supplied by meter was:

Filtered:-Trade,

Gallons.

93,196,000

Domestic (City),

Do. (Hill District),

70,109,000

...

14,687,000

Unfiltered,

25,394,000

Total,

....203,386,000

The increase in the number of meters was 130 and in the quantity of water supplied through them 63,491,000 gallons, as compared with 1902.

During the year, new services were constructed or old ones altered and improved in 472 instances and in addition 483 services were inspected and con- nected to the mains. Owing to frequent changes among the staff engaged in reading meters, etc., and to pressure of other work practically no inspections were made for the purpose of detecting defective services and no notices in respect of such matters were served.

40. Maintenance of Water Works, Kowloon.-The supply of water in Kow- loon was nearly, but not quite, constant throughout the year. In the absence of a storage reservoir, the supply is not under control as in the case of the City, especially as regards the Cheung Sha Wan In-takes, the water from which, if not drawn off from the mains, would simply run to waste. In the dry season, the yield of the streams is insufficient to keep the mains fully charged and consequently the supply obtainable from the fountains is somewhat, meagre.. This state of matters will be remedied in great measure on the completion of the service reser- voir at Kowloon Tong which is now well advanced and will be capable of contain- ing 2 million gallons. Three new in-takes at Cheung Sha Wan were constructed in the early part of the year and brought into use, making in all. The four in-takes originally constructed still form the principal sources of supply, the five new ones, though of the gratest utility during the wet season, affording but little water during the dry season.

The total consumption for the year amounted to 161,866,000 gallons or an average consumption of 443,470 gallons per day, which, with an estimated population of 62,500 gives 7.1 gallons per head per day for all purposes. Details are given in Appendices J. and K. The analyses made by the Government Analyst showed that the water was of excellent quality.

The pumping machinery, buildings, etc., were maintained in good repair throughout the year.

There were 196 meters in use at the end of the year, an increase of 52 over 1902. Private services were constructed, altered or repaired in 73 instances.