Ideal solution

In reply to the informative letter from Beatrice Owen (South China Morning Post, July 9), it is the Drainage Services Department's contractor who is using two traffic cones during repair of a defective foul sewer in Pound Lane.

In order to carry out a proper repair it has been necessary to provide a temporary pipeline. To ensure that all the water flowing into the trench is intercepted a funnel is required on the end of the temporary pipe.

The result, as observed by your correspondent, is the ideal, but unorthodox, solution of using the traffic cones as the funnel.

The permanent repair using conventional materials is proceeding well and the temporary diversion, including the traffic cones, will be removed when we reconnect the pipework on the original alignment.

GRAHAME R. S. LOW Chief Engineer Hong Kong and Islands Division Drainage Services Department