Today, Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean unveiled a new publication Water for All: Conserve, Value, Enjoy – Meeting our water needs for the next 50 years, underscoring Singapore’s water strategies and long-term plans to meet growing water demand.
Produced by PUB, the national water agency, the publication reveals new water supply plans for 2060. More importantly, it is a call to Singaporeans and residents to understand the future challenges so they can take greater ownership of the water resources.
Today, Singapore is assured of a robust and diversified water supply with the Four National Taps strategy in place. The Four National Taps are water from local catchment, imported water, high grade reclaimed water branded NEWater, and desalinated water. As the population and economy continues to grow, PUB expects the water demand to double in the next 50 years, with about 70% of the demand coming from the non-domestic sector, and domestic consumption making up the other 30%.
By 2060, Singapore plans to triple the current NEWater capacity so that NEWater can meet 50% of its future water demand. There are also plans to ramp up desalination capacity by almost 10 times so that desalinated water will meet at least 30% of its water demand in the long term.
These long-term plans were shared by DPM Teo at the Opening Ceremony & Welcome Reception of the Singapore International Water Week, the global platform for water solutions. He was also presented with the new publication by Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, during the tour of the Water Expo, a key pillar event of the Water Week.
“It is timely for us to announce some of Singapore’s new water plans during the Singapore International Water Week, which is the global platform for solutions, as these plans present exciting opportunities to both the local and global water industry congregated in town this week. Singapore was able to successfully introduce alternative sources such as reclaimed water and desalinated due to advances in membrane technology. These two sources have put us in a stronger position to deal with the vagaries of weather and allow us to increase our water supply to meet growing demand. We will continue to invest in R&D in our search for new sources and more cost-efficient ways to treat water.
“Through this easy-to-read document, we also hope to help Singaporeans and residents understand the real value of water so that they can play their part in water management. By cutting down their water usage, water demand can be reduced. With two-thirds of Singapore becoming water catchment by 2011, it is more important than ever that we keep the waters clean. This will help to reduce treatment cost while allowing us to enjoy our blue assets”, said Mr Khoo Teng Chye, Chief Executive, PUB.
Collecting every drop of rain
Despite its limited land area of 710 sq km, Singapore strives to collect every drop of rain. With the latest three reservoirs at Marina, Punggol and Serangoon, two-thirds of Singapore will become a huge water catchment that delivers rainwater to the reservoirs by 2011. These three reservoirs are probably Singapore’s last estuarine reservoirs.
With new technology like the Variable Salinity Plant which can treat water of varying salinities, Singapore aims to expand its water catchment area to 90% of Singapore’s land eventually.
Using each drop more than once
A key pillar of Singapore’s water sustainability, NEWater enables each drop of water to be used more than once. Since its launch in 2003, NEWater has been growing from strength to strength, with the completion of the fifth and largest NEWater plant built on top of the Changi Water Reclamation Plant in May this year.
Meeting international standards for drinking water, the ultra-clean NEWater is supplied mainly to industries such as the wafer fabrication, electronics and petrol chemical sectors. Demand for NEWater has grown 15-fold from 4 mgd supplied to about 20 firms in 2003, to some 60 mgd supplied to over 360 companies today. A small percentage of the NEWater is also blended with reservoir water.
NEWater capacity from the five plants can meet 30% of current water needs today. By 2020, Singapore plans to increase NEWater capacity so that it can meet 40% of water demand then. In the next 50 years, there are also plans to triple the current NEWater capacity so that NEWater can meet 50% of its future water demand. NEWater capacity at Changi will be increased to meet the growing demand. An additional NEWater plant will also be built in conjunction with the Deep Tunnel Sewerage System Phase 2.
Sea! Another source of water
As Singapore is an island, desalinating water is a natural step. Singapore turned on its Fourth National Tap in 2005 with a reverse-osmosis desalination plant. The Singspring Plant is PUB’s first Public-Private Partnership (PPP) project, supplying 30 mgd (136,000 m3/day) of water.
To further enhance the drought resilience of our water supply, Singapore plans to increase desalination capacity further with a second plant in the pipeline. As desalination is the most energy intensive supply source, research efforts are ongoing to find ways to reduce the energy consumption so as to lower its overall treatment cost.
“NEWater and desalinated water are independent of rainfall and can be used to supplement reservoir stocks during dry weather. In addition, the compact designs of the NEWater and desalination plants can be replicated in a land-efficient manner to meet growing demand,” said Mr Khoo.
Calling on stakeholders to play their part in water management
Designed to be an easy read with bite-sized information, colourful visuals and illustrations, the document also calls on Singaporeans and residents to take joint stewardship of the precious resource.
“A robust water supply system is only half the equation in ensuring our supply can meet the future growth in demand. At the heart of Singapore’s water sustainability is how we use and care for our water,” said Mr Khoo.
Today, each Singaporean uses 155 litres of water daily on average. To manage water demand, daily per capita consumption is targeted to decrease to 147 litres by 2020 through water conservation programmes and outreach efforts.
With the growth in water demand expected to come from non-domestic customers, it is imperative that corporations focus on water conservation. New initiatives by PUB such as the Water Efficiency Fund allow the non-domestic sector to explore innovative waters to conserve water while the Water Efficiency Management Plans enable corporations to better understand and manage the efficiency of their water use.
By valuing Singapore’s water resources and keeping them clean, everyone can enjoy the prevalent blue spaces around them. Singapore is home to 17 reservoirs, 32 rivers and more than 7,000km of waterways. The Active, Beautiful, Clean Waters (ABC Waters) programme will transform our utilitarian waterways and waterbodies into beautiful and vibrant waterscapes that will bring us closer to waters and enhance our quality of life. More than 100 projects will be carried over the next 20 years under the 2007 ABC Waters Masterplan. Ten ABC Waters projects are slated for completion by end of the year.
About PUB
PUB is a statutory board under the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources. It is the national water agency, managing Singapore’s water supply, water catchment and used water in an integrated way. PUB won the 2007 Stockholm Industry Water Award and was named Water Agency of the Year at the Global Water Awards 2006.
About PUB’s tagline: Water for All: Conserve, Value, Enjoy
PUB has ensured a diversified and sustainable supply of water for Singapore with the Four National Taps (local catchment water, imported water, NEWater, desalinated water).
To provide water for all, PUB calls on all Singaporeans to play our part to conserve water, keep our water catchments and waterways clean and build a relationship with water so we can enjoy our water resources. We can then have enough water for all uses – for industry, for living, for life.
28 June 2010
