real time web analytics
Report - - Tinder Hong Kong, 2018. | European and International Sites | 28DaysLater.co.uk

Report - Tinder Hong Kong, 2018.

Hide this ad by donating or subscribing !

drhowser

Bespectacled & irrelevant
Regular User
This has been something of a unicorn for me over the last 12 months. It began in the previous summer when @siologen left me to try and finish off the outstanding leads on his Hong Kong drain leads map.
In January I had a quick initial look with a German explorer who was visiting for a few days, but it proved to be a little too committed for him.
We did get far enough to inspire the name though. The whole drain is crawling with catfish.

45383094445_091e4a4d4d_b.jpg

Tinder it is then.

24833830247_b146d355b3_b.jpg

The infall initially is deep and stagnant, and requires some gymnastics to enter. Looking back we can see the cause.

24833829147_f18b074693_b.jpg

Shortly after is this junction, right turns into a covered Nullah and left heads down a short staircase to a lower level.

24833829777_ec47c1ae30_b.jpg

I've still to follow this to see how and where it joins back into the main system, but at this point it's about 4 1/2ft high and my knees weren't interested. Shortly after the weather, a lack of people prepared to try drains and a load of other more pressing missions meant that this became a side project.

31356940137_768f268316_b.jpg

Let me introduce you to HVUSSS, this is a fairly substantial storm detention system. It has a capacity of 60,000 cubic metres and is designed to consume a Hong Kong spec 50 year storm.
If you've not seen monsoon season here, let me tell you that's a lot of rain!

https://www.water-technology.net/projects/happy-valley-underground-stormwater-storage-scheme/

Although the plan above doesn't seem show the drain I've shown you so far, I couldn't get away from the idea that it had to feed into the storm tank somehow. Over the next few months I kept trying to make time and find someone willing to come and confirm it one way or another, but nothing came of it.

At least, not until @HughieD paid a visit in August. Despite never having been draining before, and being justly concerned by the fact it was monsoon season, He was game to give it a look.
I'll point out now that we were both wearing trainers and shorts, which has been standard drain attire for me here so far. It's going to be pertinent in a moment.
Now, when I had first gone down with the German, I'd got just as far as the first standing water in the lower level. At that point he had decided that he wasn't up for wet feet. So I honestly (Sorry Hughie!) had no idea what was about to befall us.

45383111095_f21e666529_b.jpg

Initially things weren't too bad, it's like a shallow culvert. Hong Kong's Drainage Services Department had other ideas however.

44478807380_626161c249_b.jpg

Looking back towards the infall, take note of the smaller pipe at the bottom of the rungs. Yep, that's a sewer running completely raw effluent straight into the storm channel.
And it was far from the only one.​

44478805730_99cd6fcba0_b.jpg


45383109775_a34ce42538_b.jpg

By now we're a couple of hundred metres into straight-from-pan pure filth. There were literal turds marooned on top of rocks. Every step was churning up the most horrible arse soup maelstrom imaginable.
By now, Hughie decided he'd had enough (remember the trainers) and if I'm honest so had I, but between the combination of six months of wanting to know more and being on the cusp of a T8 (big) typhoon that was going to interdict draining for a while, I decided to push another hundred metres further.

45383104845_ff3d485514_b.jpg


45383108745_9117e1ee99_b.jpg

Finally ahead was what looked like the end of the tunnel, along with a significant increase in noise.

45572237524_8663ee8068_b.jpg

You beauty!

This is the stilling basin marked on the HVUSSS plan, which confirmed that this was part of that same system. Euphoric to have finally confirmed that I turned back to Poor Hughie, who was still knee deep in a mixture of catfish and shit waiting for me tom come back.

45572233754_7d14c3985f_b.jpg

Move forward to December, and I've managed to use the promise of the storm tank to convince a couple of local guys to join too. Now equipped with waders the first section is much less daunting and it seems that the typhoon has helped clear out the majority of the turd too.
The smaller steps to the right are the section marked as 'existing box culvert to be modified'

44478794850_04ec0e6eda_b.jpg

We continued along the twin cell section towards the storm tank.

32423884138_8dc8995bec_b.jpg

This is the view from the inside of the tank, looking towards the 16 robot penstocks that control the flow in and out of the tank.

44478795620_2b9b47affb_b.jpg

Unfortunately for us it wasn't meant to be.. The penstocks were all closed. Saying that, in hindsight, the photo below gives an idea how things would be before they started opening!

46295840491_c7315a8846_z.jpg


46245603682_dbf61441a1_b.jpg

Walking further are the two outlets for pumping out any remaining water from the tank after the penstocks have done their thing.

45383112485_b9b929d0e9_b.jpg

Looking back gives an idea of the size of the system, this is one half of the twin cell tunnel that the tank discharges into.

31356876017_59bfe64467_b.jpg

Still looking back this is the end of the newly constructed section. Just out of shot to the right is where the existing box culvert joins the new tunnel. Behind me here is the part marked as 'to the existing box culvert at canal road'

31356871477_c7a0838c1d_b.jpg


31356870027_c9a2149621_b.jpg

This section now is the old nullah which ran around the racecourse before finally emptying into Victoria Harbour. This was open at one point before being gradually covered and built over with the Wong Nai Chung Gap Flyover-

31356875057_5ab5775a95_b.jpg


46245601952_92c1790741_b.jpg


31356872507_88b7da4680_b.jpg


32423857298_d9b194ab26_b.jpg

More of the same for the for a while until it starts becoming deeper.

46245600932_b213b00d5f_b.jpg

By now we seem to have reached the tidal equilibrium with the harbour, the water isn't really flowing and instead of cobbles and gravel, we're walking on increasingly deep and sticky mud. At the other side of the pipes crossing this picture the water is already waist deep.
It's about here that we turn back and head out.

Those who were paying attention may have noticed that there is a second nullah marked as 'to Sing Woo Road' at the stilling basin on the HVUSSS plan. On the way back we decided to have a quick look and see how it looked.

45383096335_c23a2a80ab_b.jpg

This should be the Wong Nai Chung nullah with an infall roughly a kilometre further. Happily it seems to be turd free as far as we went, but that's one for another day now.

45383102065_deea39caab_b.jpg


45572236264_d2435d826b_b.jpg


Thanks for looking!









 

pastybarm

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
Thanks for an update on this drain, with the pics of the newer section that has been built. Did you see any huntsman spiders down there?
 

HughieD

28DL Regular User
Regular User
Ha ha...that brings back memories! Glad you managed to get back down there @drhowser. Back for more HK action this Summer if you are around. This time I'll being my waders ;-)
 

drhowser

Bespectacled & irrelevant
Regular User
Thanks for an update on this drain, with the pics of the newer section that has been built. Did you see any huntsman spiders down there?

These you mean?
45232169204_e837101c65_b.jpg

Thankfully not this time, but they're standard equipment.

Ha ha...that brings back memories! Glad you managed to get back down there @drhowser. Back for more HK action this Summer if you are around. This time I'll being my waders ;-)

I've actually got a spare set too now, I got my parents to bring them when they visited last.
 

Camera Shy

Old enough to know better
Regular User
Nice one, I suspect during heavy rain that's the kind of place that could get a little frisky once those penstocks opened !
 

siologen

I Go Where The Drains Are
Regular User
Great work bud!
I'd suggest entering this from Wong Nai Chung nullah next time, as the infall is only 1.2km away, its clean, i did it in normal shoes (not trainers... SNEAKERS ;) ) and lol, while I cut my trip short cos ole' mate Snappel was waiting anxiously upstream, id say 900m of that nullah is nice big chill 10ft tall stone n brick, that is easier n quicker to traverse if you dont mind STEEP. Admittedly, theres a 5ft section connecting Wong Nai Chung to the Happy Valley Fields, but it seems more fun than re-traversing this Fai Fung Nullah Side course.

Of note, ON TOP of the flood tank under Happy Valley, the Wong Nai Chung tunnel has two more connections to the HKWDT, one pre infall, and another kinda scary auto sump mid way.

Such fantastic Drainage.
Fucking Science Fiction!
 

siologen

I Go Where The Drains Are
Regular User
Oh yeah, i forgot, lol, about 200m of Wong Nai Chung is an RCP staircase, so only 700m is HUGE.
 
Last edited:

pastybarm

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
Definitely a lot of verticality with HK drains, and a lot of sewage pollution it would seem. The one by the library used to be uncovered,but now is covered over, I saw the outfall into vic harbour.
 

Who has read this thread (Total: 148) View details

Top