The earliest record of Hong Kong's water supply was a plan to dig five water wells in 1851. During the subsequent 160 years, water supplies in Hong Kong have had to keep pace with an evergrowing population striving for greater prosperity and better living standards. To cope with the demands of a rapid increase in population and a rapidly growing economy, massive development in the water supply infrastructure has occurred in Hong Kong, particularly during the past 30 to 40 years. Although the water supply infrastructure built to date has laid a solid foundation for the planning of new water facilities to meet future demand, the challenge of developing a sustainable water infrastructure provision for the future will be different from the development-led model of the past. Instead of expanding the infrastructure to cope with increases in demand as previously has been done, it is now imperative for the Water Supplies Department (WSD) of Hong Kong to adopt more sustainable approaches focused on demand-side management.
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