ENG-1963 — Page 309

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PUBLIC WORKS AND UTILITIES

The contract was let for the Plover Cove dams, as well as the tunnel between Plover Cove and Tai Po Tau while the Tai Po Tau pump house was 85 per cent completed and the tunnel between Tai Po Tau and the lower Shing Mun dam was 'holed through' all but for about 4,000 feet. The lower Shing Mun dam at the end of the year stood 75 feet above the valley floor; the tunnel to the treatment works was completed. The treatment works were 80 per cent complete, the Lion Rock tunnel was 'holed through' and 50 per cent of the lining completed. The Lion Rock service reservoirs were 95 per cent complete and 22,000 feet of trunk mains varying from 21 inches to 48 inches in diameter were laid.

The feasibility of pumping the flood water from the River Indus was proved, though limitations are placed on this source by the storage capacity of Tai Lam Chung reservoir. With the added storage of Plover Cove, the potentialities of this scheme are much improved. Orders were placed for pumps with a capacity of 160 million gallons a day though approval was given for this pumping potential to be extended to 200 million gallons a day to coincide with the completion of Plover Cove. The lines of the two 54 inch mains for the delivery of the pumped water to Tai Po Tau were surveyed and orders placed for the pipes.

As a result of the drought conditions experienced, urgent new proposals for increasing the Colony's water resources were advanced which included preliminary investigations to be carried out into the construction of a shallow reservoir of some 6,000 million gallons capacity to receive the pumped flood water from the Yuen Long valley and 'the pumping of additional stream courses on Lantau to augment the planned catchment areas of Shek Pik. Consultants were also appointed to examine and report on the possibility of desalination of sea water. Notwithstanding the pressure imposed by the severe drought conditions, two service reservoirs at Magazine Gap and Yuen Long with a combined storage of three million gallons were completed, while good progress was maintained on the construction of a further eight service reservoirs of a combined storage of 100 million gallons.

Some 360,000 feet of distribution mains varying from two inches to 18 inches diameter were laid to enable fresh and salt water flushing supplies to be provided to new housing and indus- trial developments as well as to meet the increased consumptions