Shek Pik Reservoir () is a

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 ...

Shek Pik Shek Pik () is an area located along the southwestern coast of Lantau Island, Hong Kong. When the Shek Pik Reservoir was built, villages at Shek Pik were demolished and the villagers were relocated to other parts of Lantau Island and to Tsuen ...

Lantau Island Lantau Island (also Lantao Island, Lan Tao) is the largest island in Hong Kong, located West of Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula, and is part of the New Territories. Administratively, most of Lantau Island is part of the Islands ...

in Hong Kong. Built between 1957 and 1963, it has a storage capacity of 24 million cubic metres and is the third largest reservoir in Hong Kong after

High Island Reservoir The High Island Reservoir, located in the far south eastern part of the Sai Kung Peninsula, was opened in 1978 helping to alleviate water scarcity, water shortage problems in Hong Kong. Its water capacity is approximately 273 million cubic ...

and

Plover Cove Reservoir Plover Cove Reservoir, located within Plover Cove Country Park, in the northeastern New Territories, is the largest reservoir in Hong Kong in terms of area, and the second-largest in terms of volume. It is the world's first freshwater coastal ...

Location

Shek Pik Reservoir is located within

Lantau South Country Park Lantau South Country Park () is one of two rural country parks on Lantau Island, Hong Kong, the other one being Lantau North Country Park and its extension. Lantau South Country Park is located on the south side of the island. It was designat ...

. It is surrounded by the following areas: Kau Nga Ling (east), Keung Shan (west), Muk Yue Shan and Sz Tsz Tau Shan (north). The top of the main dam is part of Keung Shan Road which connects

Tai O Tai O is a fishing town, partly located on an island of the same name, on the western side of Lantau Island in Hong Kong. The village name means ''large inlet'', referring to outlet for the waterways (Tai O Creek and Tai O River) merges as it ...

with

Cheung Sha Cheung Sha () is a rural area on the south coast of Lantau Island, New Territories, Hong Kong. Along the South Lantau Road, Cheung Sha is located between Tong Fuk (to the southwest) and San Shek Wan (to the northeast). The most notable feature ...

Mui Wo Mui Wo is a rural town on the eastern coast of Lantau Island in Hong Kong. The 2011 Census recorded 5,485 people living in Mui Wo and its environs. Mui Wo is located on Silvermine Bay, so named for the silver mines that were once worked along ...

and

Tung Chung Tung Chung, meaning " eastern stream", is an area on the northwestern coast of Lantau Island, Hong Kong. One of the most recent new towns, it was formerly a rural fishing village beside Tung Chung Bay, and along the delta and lower courses of T ...

. Below the dam is Shek Pik Prison managed by the

Hong Kong Correctional Services Hong Kong Correctional Services (also called Correctional Services Department (CSD)) is responsible for the management of prisoners and prisons in Hong Kong. The Commissioner of Correctional Services reports to the Secretary for Security. ...

History

In the 1950s, water became short in Hong Kong. To relieve the problem 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, ...

decided to build a reservoir in Shek Pik Heung valley () and to further develop Lantau Island. The main contractor for the reservoir scheme was Soletanche, a French company. Prior to construction there were four villages, Shek Pik Tai Tseun (), Fan Pui Tsuen (), Kong Pui Tsuen () and Hang Tsai Tseun (), in the valley. They were all relocated as part of the reservoir construction. A

Hau Wong Temple Hau Wong or Hou Wang () is a title that can be translated as ''"Prince Marquis"'' or ''"Holy Marquis"''. It is not any one person's name. Hau Wong refers usually to (), a loyal and courageous general. Despite his failing health, he remained in th ...

was located there and was inundated by the Shek Pik Reservoir in 1960."Distribution of temples on Lantau Island as recorded in 1979", in ''Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch'', Vol. 20, 1980. p.138
/ref> In 1961, an 8 mile submarine pipeline was built to move water from the reservoir to Hong Kong Island, submerged from

Silvermine Bay Mui Wo is a rural town on the eastern coast of Lantau Island in Hong Kong. The 2011 Census recorded 5,485 people living in Mui Wo and its environs. Mui Wo is located on Silvermine Bay, so named for the silver mines that were once worked along ...

to Sandy Bay. Water supply started November 1963, however there was an internal lining failure.

References

External links

{{HongKong-struct-stub Reservoirs in Hong Kong Shek Pik

Location

History

See also

References

Further reading

External links