ENG-1968 — Page 245

PUBLIC WORKS AND UTILITIES

177

The waste detection section was fully operational throughout the year and again proved its effectiveness. Repair of leaks detected resulted in total savings of over four million gallons per day.

The Water Authority continued to assist the Director of Agricul- ture and Fisheries in implementing improvements to the traditional irrigation systems in the New Territories and in the provision of new irrigation schemes associated with the Plover Cove and Tung Chung major water schemes. During the year 28,000 feet of irrigation channels and 66 diversion dams were constructed.

The year produced some interesting statistics. 49,522 million gallons of water were supplied, an increase of 5,763 million gallons, on the quantity supplied during 1966, the last year in which a full supply was maintained throughout. Mean daily con- sumption was 135.5 million gallons, a peak daily figure of-173.1 million-gallons being recorded on August 27. This compared with the previous record of 160.4 million gallons recorded on May 31, 1967, when on a 16-hour supply. The 'per capita' figure for the year was 34.5 gallons per day, a figure which it should be noted, for making external comparisons, does not include any element for sanitary purposes. This requirement is generally met independ- ently, from private wells, or the Government's sea water flushing systems. 10,738 million gallons of salt water were supplied from the government systems during the year. Completion of the Plover Cove reservoir brought the capacity of the authority's storage reservoirs to 54,000 million gallons. The Colony now has a total of 18 storage reservoirs. They are (with storage capacity in millions of gallons in brackets): Pok Fu Lam (66), Tai Tam (312), Tai Tam Increased (50), Wong Nai Chung (30), Tai Tam Bye Wash (22), Tai Tam Intermediate (196), Kowloon (352), Tai Tam Tuk (1,406), Shek Lei Pui (116), Reception (33), Aberdeen (Upper) (173), Kowloon Bye Wash (185), Aberdeen (Lower) (107), Shing Mun (Jubilee) (2,921), Tai Lam Chung (4,500), Shek Pik (5,400), Lower Shing Mun (900), Plover Cove (37,000). Peak quantity stored reached 44,392 million gallons, on September 19, of which 28,717 million gallons were held at Plover Cove. The maximum quantity impounded at Plover Cove was 29,356 million gallons at a salinity of 478 ppm sodium chloride on October 18.