Dry Friday night in Sai Kung as water taps turned off
Businesses and residents are caught out by a cut in water supply ahead of the weekend while treatment plant repairs faulty equipment
Sai Kung residents expecting to wind down as usual on a Friday night found themselves carting buckets of water home yesterday as large swathes of the peninsula ran dry for hours.
About 45,000 residents and scores of restaurants and other businesses were affected when a defective valve in a treatment plant triggered a widespread cut in fresh water from 1.30pm on one of the hottest days this year has seen so far.
The Water Supplies Department initially promised to restore supplies by midnight. At 12.30am the department said the valve had now been fixed and services would gradually return to normal.
The extensive supply interruption covered virtually the whole Sai Kung peninsula north of Ta Ho Tun near Hebe Haven, including the Sai Kung country parks, and outlying islands. The public swimming pools were forced to close at 6.30pm.
"Tonight is the beginning of a long weekend and we expect lots of visitors to come," Tony Chow, who owns the popular Tung Kee Seafood Restaurant chain on the waterfront, said. "But we will do our best within limits … Perhaps we can serve our customers cold beers tonight instead of tea."
Chow said they learned of the suspension at about 3pm and had time to deal with it before the dinner crowds arrived. No bookings had been cancelled, he said, but they would be careful in using water for cooking and washing.
The department turned off the taps after it found the defective valve at the Pak Kong Au Fresh Water Service Reservoir.