前深水埗配水庫

Ex-Sham Shui Po Service Reservoir

Useful Information

Location:	Bishop Hill, Shek Kip Mei district. Start at Berwick Street, 15 min walking uphill on narrow trails and stairs. (22.330005, 114.168355)
Open:	All year Mon, Wed-Sun, Hol 9-12, 14-17. Closed 01-JAN, first two days of the Chinese New Year. Guided tours only after appointment. [2026]
Fee:
Classification:	Water Supply
Light:	Electric Light
Dimension:	Ø=46 m, H=6.85 m, V=9,900 m³.
Guided tours:	Max=100. Audioguide available for free on website.
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Ex-Sham Shui Po Service Reservoir, Water Supplies Department, Tel: +852-6679-6445. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1904	built by the British colonial government to provide clean water to Kowloon’s rapidly growing population.
1970	decommissioned.
DEC-2020	long forgotten Sham Shui Po Service Reservoir rediscovered during demolition work.
JUN-2021	accorded a Grade 1 historical building status by the Antiquities Advisory Board.
01-JAN-2026	opened to the public.

Description

The name of this site is quite complicated, its 前深水埗配水庫 (Ex-Sham Shui Po Service Reservoir), and it is even for the locals too complicated, so they abbreviate it as Ex-SSPSR. Located on Bishop Hill in Shek Kip Mei district in the middle of Hongkong it was a reservoir for drinking water. It was built in 1904 by the British colonial government to provide clean water to Kowloon’s rapidly growing population. It provided clean water until 1970, when it was decommissioned after the Shek Kip Mei Fresh Water Service Reservoir was created. The storage capacity of the new reservoir was ten times larger. It was more or less forgotten until demolition work uncovered the reservoir. Soon it became published and the people were quite interested, as a result the Water Services Department suspended demolition. The Antiquities Advisory Board evaluated the historical value, and it was declared a Grade 1 historic structure. It was renovated and since 2026 it is open to the public.

This is the oldest circular underground supply reservoir in Hongkong. The principle of a circular construction is that it can achieve the largest area with the shortest circumference, which reduces the size and thus the cost of the surrounding wall. The diameter of the water reservoir was 150 ft (46 m), the height from the floor to the vaulted ceiling was 22 ft 6 in (6.85 m) and the capacity was 2.18 million gallons (9,900 m³). The size was enormous compared to older covered brick water reservoirs. For example the former Yaumati water reservoir held 160,000 gallons (740 m³) and the demolished Hung Hom water reservoir 90,000 gallons (420 m³). But the enormous size of this reservoir made an architectural change necessary, it would have been very difficult to use a roof and pillars similar to those of ordinary brick supply tanks. Therefore, the roof of this supply tank was cast from in-situ concrete in order to achieve the planned span. The ceiling is supported by granite piers made of granite blocks 2 ft long, 1 ft 6 in wide and 1 ft high. Those piers were connected by round red brick arches in imitation of Roman civil engineering works in Flemish bond. The Shek Kip Mei Fresh Water Service Reservoir, which replaced this one, was much bigger with a capacity of 30 million gallons.

While the reservoir is open to the public there is also a virtual visit on their website. There are leaflets and a map for download, and also the audioguide for the site. If you plan a visit you should probably download the audioguide on your smartphone at home while you have wifi.