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A Steady of Water Supply
(Year 1946 - 2000)
Rebuilding The Homeland - Early post-War years
On 14 August 1945, the Japanese Military Forces in Hong Kong surrendered after years of devastation, and Hong Kong was once again under British colonial rule. This placed the immediate task of rehabilitation upon the shoulders of the British Government. A post-war Rehabilitation Committee was set up, along with a Trustee Fund, to promote the redevelopment of the Colony. Within the broad spectrum of rehabilitation, the Water Supply System was only one of many aspects requiring immediate attention. The supply system was destroyed during the War, mainly due to human negligence. The allegation that the Japanese Military Government deliberately destroyed the system was incorrect. Only minor parts of the reservoirs and catchment areas were bombed. Damage to the urban water supply infrastructure was mainly related to ancillaries, such as small diameter water pipes, with many water meters and public standpipes destroyed or stolen. In 1946, the main rehabilitation work involved renewing the Water Supply System, making repairs and replacing war-torn structures with new ones.
When examining post-war engineering works, the greatest expenditure was on the repair of the catchment areas, the trunk water pipes and the filtering systems. Additionally, more than 10,000 private water meters were destroyed or stolen. This represented a rather high percentage of meters that had to be repaired or replaced. Residents living in areas with broken water pipes or water meters suffered great inconvenience in their daily lives.
A lack of technical personnel and serious inflation hampered post war rehabilitation work. In 1945, salaries of the Waterworks Office staff had increased by 40-75%. On 15 August 1947, staff of public utilities went on the biggest post-War strike to demand for a better pay. Staff members from the 5 big public utilities, joined the strike and further aggravated the situation. The 5 public utilities were: the Hong Kong Electric Company, the Hong Kong Telephone Company, Hong Kong Tramways, the Hong Kong Gas Company and the Post Office. The Government finally backed down when they realised that the strike could expand to an unmanageable level, and agreed to raise salaries of waterworks staff by 50%. The 28-day strike participated by a total of 11,000 workers from various utilities came to an end on 12 September.
Inevitably, rehabilitation works progressed slowly due to a lack of human resources, inflation, and the revision of salary structures and staff organisation. Under these circumstances, the Waterworks Office did not immediately initiate large-scale waterworks projects after the War. Additionally, some works begun before the War, such as the establishment of the Tai Lam Chung Reservoir, had to be postponed until 1951. The main emphasis in the 4-5 years after the War was on the rehabilitation of the distribution system, repair works and maintenance works.
In Unison We Built - Impact of large-scale post-War waterworks projects
Large-scale waterworks projects after the War affected the indigenous people living within the reservoir or catchment areas most. Fortunately, every time when a reservoir was constructed, the people were co-operative and acceded to sacrificing their homeland in return for a greater benefit for the development of Hong Kong's water supply. This should not be forgotten.
When the Government tried to further extend the catchment area north of the Tai Lam Chung Reservoir, the indigenous villagers opposed it and after negotiations a compromise was reached. The people living near the reservoir in Tai Lam Chung Village and the Kwan Uk Ti area were resettled in Tsuen Wan.
The establishment of the Shek Pik Reservoir affected quite a number of villages. Residents who lived in Shek Pik, Fan Pui, Kong Pui and Hang Chai Villages were more fortunate than others. As they were situated directly in the proposed reservoir site, they were resettled in Tai Long Wan, a western coastal area of Lantau Island and a resettlement area in Tsuen Wan. Others, whose land was included as part of the catchment area, or affected by the construction of the catchwaters, faced a different situation. Among them, the residents of Pui O including Lo Wei Village and Sun Wei Village, Ham Tin, Law Uk, San Shek Wan, Upper Cheung Sha and Lower Cheung Sha Village, Tong Fuk and Shui Hou Village suffered from disturbance to their natural water supply. This was due to the interception of the streams by the Shek Pik Catchwater System. As a result, agricultural activities did not have adequate irrigation and harvests were seriously reduced. Consequently, residents had to obtain water from other villages, to meet their basic daily needs and to irrigate crops. Although the establishment of the Shek Pik Reservoir affected some villages, it modernised these areas with mains fresh water supplies. In 1966, the Shek Pik Reservoir had another mission to fulfil; it provided the main source of water supply to various outlying islands. During this year, 2 branches were added to the submarine pipeline at its valve tower on Sunshine Island. From there 2 submarine pipelines were laid which transferred water to Peng Chau and Hei Ling Chau. Starting from the 1970's, supply plans also covered Tai O and other areas of Lantau Island. In 1971, the fresh water from Shek Pik Reservoir, after being treated in Silvermine Bay, reached Cheung Chau. By the 1970's, due to the available provisions of fresh water from Shek Pik Reservoir, the main water supply network for the outlying islands had been completed. This change from well water supplies to tap water from Shek Pik Reservoir assisted in modernising the lives of the island's residents.
The Plover Cove Scheme was introduced in the spring of 1961. The social and economic impact caused by the construction of Plover Cove Reservoir were not just confined to the nearby villages. The ancillary works, including water pipelines and access roads, reached out to areas as far as Sai Kung, Yuen Long, Castle Peak, Tsuen Wan and Sha Tin. Some rivers in these areas were diverted making agricultural pursuits difficult, as residents needed to obtain fresh water from outside their villages. Some villages were turned into new roads, with residents being forced to resettle elsewhere. Affected villagers were sometimes compensated with land and sometimes with money. The amount of compensation paid, depended on the value of the land concerned and the time period. For example, from 1968 to 1970, the Government paid a rate of 45 cents to one dollar per sq. foot. This was much lower than the market price at the time, and was unacceptable to the affected villagers.
To construct the High Island Reservoir, it was necessary to take back 2.3 million sq. ft. of private agricultural land and 0.61 million sq. ft. of residential land. Those villages that were affected included Lee Uk, Chow Uk, Man Uk, Sha Tsui, Lan Lai Wan, Ko Tong, Ha Yeung, Uk Tau Village, Pak Tam Chung and Pak Tam Au. Roughly speaking, there were about 50 families living in these villages. About 300 to 400 people were resettled in Sai Kung Town, where blocks of 5-storey houses were built for this purpose. Approximately 20 to 30 families of boat people affected, however, were resettled on land. The Government's compensation differed significantly depending on the value of the land. A rate of 40 to 50 cents per sq ft. was paid for farmland, whereas $1 per sq ft. was paid for residential land.
The main reasons why both the construction of Plover Cove and High Island Reservoirs met with strong opposition from the indigenous residents, was because the affected area was huge with many villages submerged. These indigenous people believed that the construction impaired their traditional rights and that the Government's compensation was only a fraction of the market value. This discontent was the main shortcoming in the implementation of the large-scale post-War waterworks projects.
Not Even A Drop Of Water - The drought in 1963 -1964
In the early 1960's, there was a sharp increase in water consumption. From April to September 1962, there was a total 1,100 hours of water supply with a total quantity of 13.2 billion gallons. The average hourly consumption was 12,050,000 gallons, when the figure from the previous year was only 7,380,000 gallons. This meant that there was a 63% increase in only one year. Such an increase in fresh water demand had triggered the alarm of the Hong Kong's water supply system.
By 1963, the development works for new water supply sources had not been completed causing the Government to worry that it would be unable to provide people with sufficient fresh water. The low rainfall further aggravated the situation. From May 1962 to April 1963, only 1,439 mm of rainfall was recorded, which was 761 mm less than the average annual rainfall of 2,200-mm. On 31 March 1963, Hong Kong's reservoirs only held 5.355 billion gallons of water, which was only 51% of the total storage capacity. These factors indicated that Hong Kong desperately needed the wet season rainfall to fill up the reservoirs. Unfortunately, April and May had very little rainfall, and the Government was forced to exercise water rationing on 2 May 1963. This allowed the public 3 hours of water supply every day. On 16 May, the restrictions were further tightened so people only received 4 hours of water provision on alternate days. By 1 June the water stored in reservoirs had declined to 175,000,000 gallons, only 1.7% of the total storage capacity! The Government declared that it could only supply water to the public for 4 hours, every 4 days. Restrictions remained in force for nearly a year until 27 May 1964, when Typhoon Viola struck Hong Kong, bringing with it heavy downpours.
The Prologue - Water Shortage
The fishery and agricultural sectors were destroyed by the drought, killing virtually all the greenery and poultry products of the New Territories. Animal stock suffered from the summer heat and a lack of drinking water causing a large number to die. There was a general reduction of poultry and vegetable production, and as there was no water for replenishment, fishponds almost dried up in the hot summer sun.
The drought also adversely affected the commercial and industrial environment, and according to estimates from the Joint Association of Hong Kong and Kowloon Trade Unions, there were 19 trades that either reduced production or stopped altogether. Additionally, the wages of 200,000 workers were reduced. Trades that required large quantities of water to produce an end product or for cleaning purposes included restaurants, canteens, laundries, barber shops, beverage and brewing industries, bleaching, dyeing and construction. These trades were seriously threatened by the lack of water.
In the service sector, in order to save water, some restaurants provided customers with 3 tokens to restrict teapot re-filling. In addition, they no longer provided wet towels to the customers. Plastic tablecloths were used in lieu of cotton ones to avoid washing. Cafes and canteens no longer provided customers with glasses of water. Hair salons and barbershops experienced great difficulties in obtaining sufficient water for hair washing therefore they were forced to reduce their business. By the end of June 1963, barbershops had suffered a 30% business reduction.
In the manufacturing sector, textile factories suffered most as they were unable to use large quantities of water during dyeing or washing processes, causing their production to be severely reduced. Workers were laid off and some factories even stopped production.
Those who benefited from the water restrictions were the manufacturers who produced and sold buckets. As all trades required containers to hold water, and indeed most families needed to store water, the sale of buckets increased dramatically. The public preferred the 50-gallon large steel buckets. Roughly speaking, in 1963, there were 3,000,000 to 4,000,000 steel buckets commonly converted from kerosene containers. If they were lined up, they would have stretched 2,376,000 ft.long, or stacked up to a height of 3,432,000 ft. This was about 1,913 times the height of the Victoria Peak!
Transportation of water became a new profit-making business. Many villagers in the New Territories took this opportunity to convey well water for sale to urban residents. Fishing boats sailed to Lantau Island and other outlying islands in search of streams and waterfalls where villagers could collect water. Prior to May 1963, the price of natural water was roughly 10 cents per 14 gallons however, in the urban areas it was often as high as $5 per bucket.
The summer heat combined with a lack of water for cleaning were the perfect conditions to encourage the spread of diseases. On 28 June 1963, the first case of cholera was reported in Hong Kong and by the end of the year there were 115 cases. Those who were suspected of contracting the disease were quarantined in observation wards located on Chatham Road. Besides cholera, other diseases such as dysentery, typhoid fever and paratyphoid were reported.
In April 1963, to prevent the spread of cholera, the Government provided inoculations at all clinics, hospitals and 64 temporary centers. Several days after the imposition of water restrictions, 670,000 people had been vaccinated and by early July, the number of recipients had reached 1,886,000. In November the same year, the Government organised the second Inoculation Campaign in which the Education Department and the Medical & Health Department gave all students under the age of 10 inoculations against various infectious diseases. On 17 July, in an attempt to improve public health, the Government opened Hong Kong's 116 Public Baths. The Waterworks Office dispatched 13 water wagons to transport 100,000 gallons of well water to the baths each day.
The areas that suffered the most from water restrictions were the densely populated areas and multi-storey buildings. The main reason was that at the stipulated time for water supply, all the taps in the same district would be turned on. This seriously reduced water pressure in the supply system. Plumbing in old buildings was normally comprised pipes normally of no more than 2 inches in diameter, with those on upper floors even smaller. In times of restriction, water pressure was not strong enough to provide supply to all floors at the same time. Thus, people living on upper floors relied on those living below to turn off their taps to enable water to reach them. During water restrictions, "Turn your taps off!" was frequently shouted to lower-floor residents who would not stop collecting water. In those days, it was common for there to be approximately 6 families on each floor. This meant that each family only had 10 minutes of water supply. Individuals might only be given 1 to 3 minutes of water supply. With extremely short time available for water to be collected, neighbours sometimes quarrelled. Such quarrels often ended up with injuries, casualties or even loss of life. The Waterworks Office tried to solve the problem by deploying additional water wagons to provide extra water supplies to areas where water pressure was weak. The Waterworks Office asked for calm and advised the public to be patient, however they could not eradicate the problem of the severe water shortage.
The Episode - Economising Water Usage
In 1963-64, Hong Kong people had to be economical when using water. The whole society worked together in an unprecedented movement to save water.
Reduction of individuals' use of water
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People were advised not to wash directly under running taps.
- People were advised to only bath once every 2 days. Some schools even cancelled physical exercise so students would not need to bath so often.
- People tried not to wear white clothing, as it would easily become dirty. People only washed their clothes when it was absolutely necessary.
- People were advised not to use bathtubs. If bathtubs were used, then they should be filled with not more than 6-inches of water. It was better if the whole family shared one bathtub of water.
- Instead of brushing teeth, people were advised to chew an apple after meals.
- Paper bowls, dishes and plates were used to avoid washing up.
Recycling water for daily use
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Water was recycled and used for several purposes before finally being discarded. For example, water used for washing hands and faces could be used again to wash clothes, rice or vegetables. Water used to wash clothes could be used again for mopping floors. All water could finally be used for watering plants and flushing the toilet.
- Alum was used to precipitate dirt suspension so that filthy water could be made reasonably clean for re-use.
Save water campaign
Responding to the call to save water, various neighbourhood organisations, called Kai Fong Welfare Associations, organised social activities such as essay competitions and speech festivals, to encourage the public to be vigilant. Among these activities, a territory-wide essay competition was jointly organised by 29 Kai Fong Welfare Associations. The organisers obtained support from the Post Office, in the form of free postage for all essay entries. The participants were required to write the words "Save Water" in Chinese on the envelopes to enjoy the free postage offer. This propaganda received much publicity. Incidentally, the two-character address in Chinese broke the record and became the shortest valid postal address of the world. All in all, these activities achieved great educational results.
Reduction of social activities
Many social associations and private organisations cancelled their gatherings. Instead some donated money to charity which had originally been set-aside for these functions. Company celebrations and social activities, were basic and often cancelled altogether.
Government Measures
The Government stopped providing facilities that required large amounts of water. Public toilets, swimming pools, and stadiums were closed. During evening classes students were forbidden to obtain water from schools. They were required to arrive at school only ten minutes before lessons to prevent them from consuming water.
On 18 April 1963, the Marine Department issued a proclamation to stop people providing or selling water to ships from abroad. Ship owners and companies were allowed just enough water to get them to the next port.
In hospitals, a great deal of fresh water was consumed during each surgery. To save water, some hospitals announced that all minor surgery would be postponed. Apart from cooking and essential medical uses, the hospital used well water or recycled water. This is hard to imagine now that water is plentiful and widely available.
By the end of 1963, the Waterworks Office and the Fire Services Department had installed plastic pipes to pump water from the sea, to fight fires. On the main streets, seawater pipes were laid under the ground. These pipes measured a total of 15 miles. The fire brigade also set up tall mast surveillance stations to detect fires as soon as they broke out.
In 1963, the Government enacted regulations against water wastage. Minor offenders were fined anything from several hundred to several thousand dollars, and had their water supply terminated. Serious offenders were imprisoned. These punishments were aimed at forcing people to seriously conserve water. From 1963 to 1964, violators of these regulations were caught nearly every day. The Government's strict adherence to the regulations and their accompanying punishments had a positive effect on society and made the public more aware of the importance of saving water.
The Epilogue - The Search for Additional Water Supplies
The Government and the people were unified by a determination to save water. However, the responsibility of searching for additional water resources fell solely on the Waterworks Office.
Water Tankers
During the early stages of the drought, the Government recalled the experiences of 1929, when fresh water was brought to Hong Kong from abroad. From 1963 to 1964, with the permission of the Guangdong Provincial Government, water was obtained from the estuary of Zhujiang and shipped to Hong Kong in tankers. In 1963, when Hong Kong suffered severely from the drought, the Government mobilised 10 tankers at the same time to transport fresh water from Zhujiang. These tankers imported 350,000,000 gallons of river water in one month and on average, they shipped 12,000,000 gallons of water daily to Hong Kong. The 10 or so tankers had to go to Zhujiang over 1,000 times in a year.
In addition to the chartered tankers, other commercial ships and steamers donated distilled water produced on board the vessels, or fresh water brought from overseas. According to incomplete records, fresh water imported to Hong Kong, from the end of May to the end of June 1963, by these commercial vessels amounted to 2,350,000 gallons. From 1963-64, fresh water brought in by ships visiting Hong Kong totalled 16,800,000 gallons. This showed that the lack of fresh water in Hong Kong had become an international concern.
The Re-opening of Wells
Since the late 19th century, many wells in the city had been abandoned after the Government had banned the use of well water. In 1963, due to the lack of water sources, the Kai Fong Welfare Associations of Hong Kong and Kowloon began to survey and register the number of private and commercial wells, and soon reopened them. It was discovered that there were over 3,500 wells in Hong Kong and by June 1963, the Government had re-opened more than 280 of them. Each day these wells provided Hong Kong with 400,000 to 500,000 gallons of water. The opening of these wells and the times of supply were controlled by the Kai Fong Welfare Associations. Well owners controlled the timetables of public water supply from private wells. Apart from making use of the existing subterranean sources, the Kai Fong Welfare Associations more importantly organised the sinking of new wells to obtain more water. As the well water had not been through the filtering process, the Government reminded people only to use it for non-potable applications. Although people were warned that it was not suitable for drinking, there were still occasional reports of poisoning due to the consumption of well water.
Artificial Rain
One way of providing alternative water resources was to stimulate artificial rain. On 31 May 1963, the Hong Kong Government mobilised two planes of the Auxiliary Air Force to fill the sky with large amounts of dry ice, 7,000 ft. above the western part of Cheung Chau. This lasted for 30 minutes with the intention of creating artificial rain. Unfortunately, this attempt was unsuccessful.
Religious Intercession for Rain
Religious bodies, including Buddhist, Taoist and Christian religions, organised their own rituals to pray for rain. Some Taoist sessions lasted as long as 7 days and nights, and the Hong Kong Joint Buddhist Association held similar rituals in the Happy Valley race course over 3 days. Prominent patronage was invited to these sessions and although the intercession was passive, it unified Hong Kong's society in combating the drought.
Repercussions
In 1963 and 1964, Hong Kong experienced its driest period, since its establishment. The drought created the most serious situation in the history of Hong Kong's water supply.
Compared to 1929, water supply in 1963 was less, due to the ever-increasing population. People suffering from the drought in 1963, unlike their predecessors in 1929, could not retreat back to the Mainland for refuge. Those who stayed had to face the devastating impact of the drought and had to compete for the basic element of survival - potable water. The lower classes suffered greatly as the drought caused subsequent economic recession. After the drought, recovery of social stability depended on, among other things, the reform of the Water Supply System, which had to be carried out without delay. Innovative planning, taking into consideration long-term rises in Hong Kong's population, were contemplated. Investments were new and enormous, and construction was swifter and more comprehensive than before. In the process of urbanisation, the experiences gained from the 1963 drought made the implementation of the Water Supply Service the Government's number one concern.
To obtain more sources of water supply, the Government really wanted to detach itself from sole reliance on rainfall. Consequently, it took on a possible note of inquiring into the possibility of buying more water from the Mainland. With the completion of the Xinfengjiang Reservoir (新豐江水庫) in June 1960 in Guangdong, which has a storage of 13.9 billion cubic metres, the flow in Dongjiang River could then be regulated. And the possibility of Dongjiang water supplying to Hong Kong through the mountains stretching between the two places became hydrologically feasible. This reality was brought about both by modern technology and, the most important of all, the Mainland friendly diplomacy - stemming from that the Mainlanders and Hong Kong people had the same blood flowing in their veins. The supply of water from the Dongjiang not only changed the attitude of the then Hong Kong Government on China, but also enhanced the pro-Chinese feelings of the general social classes. It became the mainstay of Hong Kong's water supply and changed the mode of provision of water supply to the Hong Kong people.
Looking For More - The use of seawater for toilet flushing
Before World War II, dry closets were used in Hong Kong, and the Sanitary Board's traditional waste disposal method was to bury the waste underground, or dump it into the sea. In 1935, the Sanitary Board was re-organised and re-named, the Urban Council. Although some Government buildings and public houses made use of water closets as opposed to the use of dry closets, the vast majority of Hong Kong's population were not equipped with flushing toilets. The traditional ways of disposing human waste were not up to modern standards and were not economical, therefore the Government attempted to abolish them as soon as possible. In the late 1950's, the use of water closets in individuals' flats was encouraged to enhance the sanitary conditions in the city.
The use of seawater was unpopular in the 1960's, as it was difficult to immediately do away with traditional ways of waste disposal. In the 1950's, 40% of all Hong Kong's buildings were built in the pre-war years and most of them did not have a proper sewage system. Flat owners were required to pay a large sum of money to have toilets installed, however, most were unwilling to do so. Some buildings were originally installed with toilets that made use of subterranean or stream water and owners of these buildings found it extremely difficult to change to seawater because substantial changes were required to the existing plumbing and other ancillary structures. These modifications were expensive therefore owners did not accept them. Thus when the Government implemented the use of seawater for flushing, it could only make it mandatory for new buildings or those under reconstruction programmes. The 1 January 1965 marked the official implementation of the seawater flushing system in Hong Kong.
When the Seawater Flushing System was first introduced, the tariff was levied according to the amount of water used. It took a general amount of 25% of the household's corresponding consumption of fresh water. In 1961, the tariff for domestic and non-domestic consumption remained unchanged. Both were set at a rate of 40 cents per 1,000 gallons. In 1971, the rate was increased to 70 cents. From 1972 onwards, seawater flushing supplies were free and there was no restriction on the amount of seawater used.
From the 1990's onwards, the fresh water resources were sufficient for Hong Kong's population. The implementation of seawater for flushing was therefore not solely for water conservation, but also aimed at economic benefits. The cost of installing a seawater flushing mechanism in some areas would be quite high. These areas include the Peak, the eastern part of the South District of Hong Kong Island, Yuen Long, Sheung Shui, Fanling, Sai Kung, and the outlying islands. For this economic reason, these districts are not at present equipped with a Seawater Flushing System.
The main advantage of using seawater is its abundant supply. This enables Hong Kong's densely populated districts to enjoy good public hygiene, even though there is a lack of fresh water. As seawater itself is basically free, the cost of using it for flushing toilets was economically viable. It is believed that in the 21st century there will be a general lack of fresh water resources in the World's cities, the use of seawater as a source of disposing wastes, will widely be adopted by coastal cities without adequate fresh water supplies. Hong Kong has taken a leading role and has set a good example to other cities that are also lacking in fresh water resources.
Water From Dongjiang - People's concern about importation of supplies from Guangdong
To obtain more sources of water supply, the Government really wanted to avoid sole reliance on rainfall. Consequently, it inquired into the possibility of buying more water from the Mainland. The supply of water from the Dongjiang (East River) not only changed the attitude of the then Hong Kong Government towards China, but also enhanced the pro-Chinese feelings of the working classes. It became the mainstay of Hong Kong's water supply and changed the mode of provision of water to the Hong Kong people.
To meet the basic needs of its population, the Hong Kong Government actively looked for new sources of water. One of ideas was to purchase water from Guangdong. The idea originated in 1929 and was put into practice in 1960. From 1965 onwards, water was transported from as far away as the Dongjiang. Water from Guangdong not only solved the fresh water shortage problem, but also indirectly helped improve the relations between the Mainland and Hong Kong. The Mainland authorities supplied water to Hong Kong at a low price, feeling that they were helping fellow Chinese. Between 1960s to 1970s, the cheap fresh water supplies helped Hong Kong's industries and accelerated the drive for rapid urbanisation.
Since 1979, when the Mainland embarked on the road of economic reform, there were rapid population increases in cities and towns and the development of industries along the Dongjiang river catchment area. The Guangdong authorities did not adequately control pollution and failed to protect the surroundings from human settlements and industry. This contributed to the continuous decline in the quality of the Dongjiang water. In view of this declining quality and the need to maintain clean drinking water, treatment processes became more sophisticated and expensive. To neutralise the ammoniacal nitrogen in the raw water, larger quantities of chlorine were added. This in turn produced a by-product which aroused public health concern. On 28 August 2000, the Guangdong Provincial Government started to build a closed aqueduct to minimise contamination during the conveyance of Dongjiang water to Hong Kong. Mainland and Hong Kong hoped that in 3 years' time, the Dongjiang water would remain Class II standard and the problem of contamination from industrial waste along the Dongshen catchment would be solved. This construction plan should also include measures to tackle the problem associated with inadequate water in the Dongshen watercourse to dilute waste originating from the Dongshen catchment. Improving the quality of the Dongjiang water remains an urgent task.
Looking Ahead - Outlook on Hong Kong's water supply
Hong Kong's success as a 21st century cosmopolitan metropolis - possessing the most advanced infrastructure, including a perfect communications network and an excellent commercial and transportation service system - is partly attributable to the continuous fresh water supply. In a comparatively short period of 100 years or so, Hong Kong was transformed from being a fishing harbour into an important Asian-Pacific entrepot, and then transformed further into the modern international financial centre that it is today. The continuous expansion of urban areas was closely linked with the establishment and further development of the Water Supply Service. The close interaction between water supply and urbanisation truly reflects Hong Kong's evolution, and we found that the study of one process enabled us to better understand the other.
With the advent of the 1990's, Hong Kong's economy moved in the direction of high technology, and also towards an international financial and investment centre. In Hong Kong during the 1990's, each person on average enjoyed a reliable 400-litre supply of fresh water per day, about 16 times the amount made available to a person during the first years of the Colony's establishment. This increase illustrates how much the Water Supply System had improved. At present, water is obtained from Dongjiang, and the quantity can be increased if the need arises. Today, the Government and the Hong Kong people no more worry about inadequacy in the quantity of supply as before.
Nowadays, Hong Kong is quite affluent with people generally enjoying high living standards. We expect not only an adequate water supply, but also the quality of supplies to be unpolluted and wholesome. This is a marked social advancement. As a modern person enjoying the convenience brought about by society's advanced infrastructure, we must not become complacent and should always remind ourselves to save water. The main problem we may have to face now is the deterioration of water quality. The fundamental strategies needed in order to protect our precious water resources are keeping water sources as clean as possible and treating contaminated water before disposal. Water supplies can only be made available at a reasonably low cost, if a way to lower the cost of acquiring water can be found. Additionally we need to lower the cost of foul water treatment amidst the prevailing contaminated environment. Finding the equilibrium between economic development and the protection of the natural environment is one of the greatest challenges water service providers will face in the 21st century.
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