Research on the Significance of the Plover Cove Reservoir Project in the 1960s for Hong Kong's Urban Development and its Heritage Process

<p>The Plover Cove Reservoir was the most monumental hydraulic engineering project undertaken by the Hong Kong Government in the New Territories during the 1960s. Raw water is drawn from the Tai Mei Tuk Raw Water Pumping Station, transported via the Tai Po Tau Raw Water Pumping Station, and then delivered to the Sha Tin Water Treatment Works for processing. While this infrastructure has witnessed over 50 years of the Dongjiang-Shenzhen Water Supply Project, descriptions of this remarkable feat of engineering have been notably scarce within historical scholarship, official government reports, and even the Water Supplies Department's initiatives for heritage nomination. This article, by examining government archives and newspaper materials from the mid-20th century, demonstrates that the Plover Cove Reservoir Project was a precursor to large-scale development in the New Territories of Hong Kong. It spurred advancements in regional Engineering Education, Pulic Transport, Employment and Management. The flexible membrane dam technology employed during the construction of Plover Cove Reservoir made a significant contribution to Hong Kong's flood control engineering. Plover Cove Reservoir Project has witnessed Hong Kong's long history of struggling against harsh natural conditions, made outstanding contributions to completely solving the water shortage problem, and symbolized that Hong Kong's waterwork technology has entered a new stage.</p>