Councillor Demands Answers Over Historic Reservoir

A Sham Shui Po district councillor is demanding answers over whether the government was aware of the historical significance of a century-old disused reservoir that was being demolished.

Work has been halted and the Antiquities and Monuments Office has been called in to assess the site at Bishop Hill, after bulldozers uncovered Roman-style arches, that date back to before the First World War.

Councillor Kalvin Ho says the structure is mostly in perfect condition, with less than 10 percent destroyed. He has requested a district council meeting in January to discuss the site.

"At the very beginning when the Water Supplies Department asked the district council to agree the repairment of the reservoir, we don't know what is inside the reservoir," Ho said.

"We just know there are some structural problems, which would cause danger to the residents nearby, that's why we agreed for the department to start the project."

Ho said that when the council found out there were some historical structures at the site, they questioned why the Water Supplies Department hadn't been aware of them.

The structure was reportedly not on a list of higher value structures built before 1950 and compiled by the antiquities office.

Meanwhile police say they have issued fines to eight people near the Bishop Hill reservoir site for violating the Covid-19 public gathering ban.