Pok Fu Lam Reservoir, formerly known as the Pokefulum Reservoir, is the first

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

in Hong Kong. It is located in a valley in

Pok Fu Lam Pok Fu Lam or Pokfulam is a residential area on Hong Kong Island, at the western end of the Southern District. It is a valley between Victoria Peak and Mount Kellett, around Telegraph Bay. Pok Fu Lam can claim several ''firsts'' in the histo ...

History

Before the completion of the reservoir in 1863, the people in the city got their water by nearby

stream A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream ...

s or

wells Wells most commonly refers to: * Wells, Somerset, a cathedral city in Somerset, England * Well, an excavation or structure created in the ground * Wells (name) Wells may also refer to: Places Canada *Wells, British Columbia England * Wells ...

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

Hong Kong Government The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, commonly known as the Hong Kong Government or HKSAR Government, refers to the Executive (government), executive authorities of Hong Kong Special administrative regions of China, ...

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 for the project. On 29 February 1860, S. B. Rawling, a clerk from

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

suggested the construction of a dam across the valley of Pokfulam to collect rainwater. 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.6 Historic Structures of Pok Fu Lam Reservoir
Conserve and Revitalise HongKong Heritage

References

Pok Fu Lam Reservoirs in Hong Kong Declared monuments of Hong Kong {{HongKongIsland-geo-stub