ENG-1960 — Page 51

REVIEW

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too continued to expand. Early in 1960 the waterworks were ca- pable of providing a winter supply of roughly 50 million gallons a day, whereas the demand was probably of the order of 80 million. The next scheme to become productive, Shek Pik, would add 28 million gallons at the end of 1963, making a total of 78; but by this time demand might be expected to reach 104, or more probably 120, million gallons. If the Sham Chun project succeeded, it would supplement supplies by 1961 and, on the more con- servative estimate of the increase in consumption, supply would not be far short of demand from the date when Shek Pik came into production. But taking the more pessimistic view of the growth in consumption, there was no-prospect of supply overtaking de- mand until the last of all these schemes, the Plover Cove reservoir, was ready, perhaps at the end of 1967. By 1970, therefore, the familiar restrictions might have to be re-imposed once more. The possibility of easing the situation by distilling sea water had to be ruled out meanwhile, for even in conjunction with the generation of electricity there was still no prospect of producing worthwhile quantities at any but a prohibitive cost, and the time factor was uncertain.

Evidently something more than the schemes already in view must be found. The Consultants and Public Works Department accordingly devised further refinements of the Plover Cove and Hebe Haven schemes which, among other advantages, would raise the yield from a combined 75 million gallons a day to at least 100 million gallons. This would be achieved by integrating the schemes with each other so as to tap additional catchment areas which could not otherwise be used economically. As Hebe Haven lacks the capacity to store all the water from neighbouring catchments, a great deal of the water trained into the reservoir would overflow into the sea for much of the year. This loss could be prevented by diverting the water through pipes under Tolo Channel to Plover Cove where the storage capacity will exceed requirements. A further improvement proposed was to lead the supply route by tunnels round the head of the Tolo Channel inland of Tai Po to Sha Tin, these tunnels being fed with additional water from catchments on the hills above. Yet a third route is possible for the water leaving Hebe Haven: instead of passing southwards through the hills direct to Kwun Tong or northwards under Tolo