Pok Fu Lam Reservoir
Encyclopedia
Pok Fu Lam Reservoir is the first reservoir
Reservoirs of Hong Kong
Reservoirs in Hong Kong are spread fairly evenly over the entire 1,104 km² of Hong Kong. There is plenty of space for small reservoirs in Hong Kong, as the hilly areas provide valleys suitable for water storage. However, the larger reservoirs, i.e. High Island Reservoir and Plover Cover Reservoir,...

 in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

. It is located in a valley in Pok Fu Lam
Pok Fu Lam
Pok Fu Lam or Pokfulam is a residential area on Hong Kong Island, at the western end of the Southern District.Pok Fu Lam is a valley between Victoria Peak and Mount Kellet, around Telegraph Bay....

. It is actually two reservoirs with capacity of 260 km³.

History

Before the completion of the reservoir in 1863, the people in the city got their water by nearby stream
Stream
A stream is a body of water with a current, confined within a bed and stream banks. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as a branch, brook, beck, burn, creek, "crick", gill , kill, lick, rill, river, syke, bayou, rivulet, streamage, wash, run or...

s or wells
Water well
A water well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, boring or drilling to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The well water is drawn by an electric submersible pump, a trash pump, a vertical turbine pump, a handpump or a mechanical pump...

. These methods however were unable to support rapid growth of population since 1841. Diseases were caused by polluted water.

The Hong Kong Government needed an urgent solution to the problem. Thus, it prepared a reward of 1,000 pounds to anyone who provided a solution to disease on 14 October 1859. The colonial government also allocated a budget of 25,000 pounds for the project.

On 29 February 1860, S. B. Rawling, a clerk from Royal Engineers
Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers , and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army....

suggested the construction of a dam across the valley of Pokfulam to collect rain water.

The reservoir was completed in 1863. The construction did not meet the needs of the population because of budget-cuts, which left the dam to be far from adequate.

Another reservoir above the original was built to meet the needs of the growing colony in 1877.

Monument Declaration

6 Historic Structures of Pok Fu Lam Reservoir were declared as monuments in 2009. These include 4 masonry bridges, gauge basin and the Former Watchman's Cottage which is now Pok Fu Lam Management Centre

Reference

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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