WHERE DOES SINGAPORE’S WATER COME FROM?
In Singapore, two of the most essential
issues that the island city-state faces are the limited land mass as well as a
lack of sufficient drinking water to comply with the industrial and domestic requirements
of the city-state. The city uses up over 700 Olympic-sized swimming pools worth
of water each day, roughly around 106 million litres. The supply and sanitation
of water in Singapore is characterized by a number of glowing achievements in
the challenging environment of the densely-populated city-state. In Singapore,
access to water is universal, affordable, efficient as well as of high quality.
According to PUB, just fifty years ago, Singapore had just two water sources to
supply water to the population of the island city-state. Today, there exist
four – the Four National Taps.
The Four National Taps, in order, are:
1. Local
Catchments and Reservoirs
The first of Singapore’s Four National Taps
consists of local catchments of rainfall and their reservoirs. They are
especially precious given the small amount of densely settled land the
city-state has. As Singapore is in the tropics, it receives an annual average
of 2.5 metres of rainfall, which is well above the global rainfall average of
1. 05 metres per year. However, the limited land area constrains the ability to
catch and store the rain water, which is also an effect of the absence of
natural aquifers and lakes. Depending on rainfall, the artificial reservoirs in
carefully managed catchment areas across Singapore can collect up to 200 – 300
million gallons per day.
Two-thirds of the nation’s surface area is
classified as partly protected catchment areas. As of 2012, there are seventeen
raw water reservoirs. Singapore’s oldest reservoirs are the Macrithic, Lower
Peirce, and Upper Seletar Reservoirs, all built before independence, while the
larger reservoirs are located in river estuaries closed off by barrages, as can
be seen in the right photo, which is the barrage of the Marina Bay reservoir,
the largest in the country.
Reservoir water is treated through chemical
coagulation, rapid gravity filtration and further disinfection.
2. Imported
Water from Malaysia
The map above shows the mouth of the Johor
River (Kuala Johor), the main source of Singapore’s mud and streams in the
Central Catchment Area in the middle of Singapore.
The 1927 agreement was superseded by two new
agreements signed in 1961 and 1962, under which Singapore built two new water
treatment plants as well as a new, expanded pipeline from Johor. Under a threat
of potentially being cut off from this main source of water during Malaysia’s
confrontation with Indonesia, this was one of the primary motives for Singapore
to develop its local water resources. In 1990, the Prime Ministers of Singapore
and Malaysia signed an agreement that allowed Singapore to proceed with the
construction of a dam on the Johor River.
In 1998, Singapore began new negotiations
with Malaysia to extend its water agreements. In 2002, Malaysia requested a
much higher price for the water, which was closer to the price of desalinated
water. Singapore refused, and instead decided to achieve self-sufficiency in
its water supply before 2061. Negotiations ended in 2003 without results.
The imported water from Malaysia (up to 250
million imperial gallons per day), supplies around forty percent of Singapore’s
water supply, as shown in the picture to the right, which is the water pipeline
from Malaysia, shown here at the Johor-Woodlands causeway.
Currently, Singapore and Malaysia have two
agreements over water, and both will expire in the year 2061.
3. NEWater
In 1998, Singapore initiated the Singapore
Water Reclamation Study (NEWater Study) to determine if reclaimed water treated
to potable standards was a viable source with water. The first reclaimed water
plant was commissioned by Singapore in 2002, opening the ‘Third’ Tap, after a
two-year monitoring period to ensure safe water quality. NEWater meets up to
one-third of Singapore’s water needs.
NEWater is the ultra-pure water produced from
reclaimed water, treated in reclamation plants in Singapore. The effluent from
the plants is discharged in the sea or further treated in the plants. The quality
of NEWater is monitored by an international panel, and far exceeds WHO
standards for drinking water. As of 2018, there are five reclamation plants in
Singapore, and four NEWater factories, the most recent and largest of which is
located in Changi.
Most of NEWater is used by industries, such
as wafer fabrication, and the rest is fed back into reservoirs to be further
purified for domestic use. The high purity of NEWater has even allowed
industries to reduce costs.
The Deep Tunnel Sewerage System (DTSS) was
made operational in 2010, which consisted of a 48 kilometers long tunnel sewer
than channels used water to the reclamation plants. It works entirely by
gravity, eliminating the need for pumping stations and the risks of used water
overflows by proxy. The DTSS is currently in its first phase, and is planned to
expand across the entire island.
4. Desalinated
Water
In 2005, Singapore opened its first seawater
desalination plant in Tuas. The water desalination plant can produce up to
fifty million imperial gallons per day, officially ten percent of demand. The
second plant began operations in 2013, and both plants together can provide up
to one quarter of Singapore’s current water needs.
The government has identified five coastal
sites for future plants, intending to bring up the installed capacity of the
plants to ensure that desalination will be able to meet up to twenty-five
percent of Singapore’s future water demand by year 2060.
Singapore’s water supply, while sufficient
for now, is not permanent and unstable, and if one source is cut off, the
nation’s water needs will not be met. As such, Singapore is looking to expand
its own water sources to ensure its water security in the future.
By Jasmine Ong Zhi Hui
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