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Hong Kong expands use of cavern service reservoirs to free up land

  • Hong Kong expands use of cavern service reservoirs to free up land
    Image: Wikipedia
  • Black & Veatch to help Water Supplies Department turn hilly terrain and rock formations into opportunities for land supply.

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Black & Veatch
Black & Veatch is an employee-owned, global leader in building critical human infrastructure in Energy, Water, Telecommunications and Government Services.

The Water Supplies Department (WSD) of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is considering relocating the Diamond Hill Fresh Water and Salt Water Service Reservoirs (DHSRs) to caverns.

WSD has appointed Black & Veatch to investigate, design and supervise the construction of the caverns and the new DHSRs.

“Enhancing land resources is critical to Hong Kong’s success. Housing service reservoirs in caverns is a technically viable alternative that can increase land supply. By collaborating with WSD, we are able to address the key requirements of delivering a world-class facility,” said Andy Kwok, Managing Director, Black & Veatch Hong Kong.

The main objective for the project is to release land for other beneficial uses while still providing a quality water supply to the local areas.

A new fresh water service reservoir, a new salt water service reservoir and associated pumping stations will be constructed within the caverns to replace the existing installations.

Black & Veatch will be involved in designing tunnels, caverns and associated works for the new DHSRs; optimizing the water supply systems of the proposed service reservoirs; and decommissioning the existing DHSRs and pumping station.

Across the world, Black & Veatch has demonstrated the ability to successfully design and manage the construction of reservoirs and other water infrastructure. The company offers integrated and collaborative solutions, exemplified in Hong Kong by the construction of the award-winning Western Salt Water Service Reservoirs.

  • Black & Veatch was engaged by WSD as the consultant for the “Relocation of Diamond Hill Fresh Water and Salt Water Service Reservoirs to Caverns - Feasibility Study.”
  • Black & Veatch pioneered the design and construction of the re-provisioning of the Western Salt Water Service Reservoirs in a rock cavern, which released land for the development of the school campus at the University of Hong Kong. With this approach, slope cutting of 300,000m3 and a significant amount of tree felling were avoided. This approach reduced construction costs and time. The project won the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce’s Innovative Award and 2010 International Water Association (IWA) Project Innovation Awards (East Asia Regional Awards) in the Design Category.
  • Other cavern/tunnel projects Black & Veatch worked on include the Relocation of Sai Kung Sewage Treatment Works to Caverns and Inter-Reservoirs Transfer Scheme – Water Tunnel between Kowloon Byewash Reservoir and Lower Shing Mun Reservoir for the Drainage Services Department of the Hong Kong Government, and Long-Term Strategy for Cavern Development in Hong Kong for the Civil Engineering and Development Department (CEDD). CEDD is a department of the Hong Kong Government that reports to the Development Bureau.

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