“A drop in drought : memories of Hong Kong water rationing in the 1960s = 點滴皆辛苦 : 六十年代香港制水故事” is based on the experiences shared by the interviewees. Water is essential to all species on the Earth. Nowadays, we have different measures, such as desalination to maintain enough freshwater for us to use in HK. It seems that we have rich freshwater resources. Back in the 1960s, Hong Kong experienced a water crisis. People did not have sufficient water to use to maintain daily life.

Through the stories retold by the interviewees, readers can understand more about daily life during the water restriction’s period. Oral history focuses on personal experience, which cannot be used in official documents or artefacts to reflect the situation. However, people can reflect on history vividly.

What impressed me most is the intelligence that people try to reduce the consumption of water to satisfy daily needs during the water rationing era. According to Mr Cheng Ping Chuen, different family members would use the same basin's water. I hardly imagine how it could happen nowadays.

Moreover, although reducing consumption is a method to overcome the water-rationing period, using well water is another way to overcome the difficulty. “Well” is a traditional method to obtain underground water for domestic use, agriculture and industrial use. However, due to technological advancement, we no longer rely on wells to obtain underground water. Ms Tang Woon Yu treasures a lot of her memory since her experience was different from those living in cities.

Everyone in this book has different interesting experiences during the water restriction period. Thanks to sharing from different interviewees, we can understand more about how people in the 1960s lived with limited water.