Singapore's Water Supply
Saturday, April 18, 2009 5:02 PM
Reservoirs
Singapore's first reservoir is MacRitchie reservoir, which was built by the British in 1867. Subsequently, as Singapore developed into a modern city over the years, more sources of water were needed to sustain the city’s growth thus, two more local reservoirs were added.
After independence, the Public Utilities Board took over the control of basic supplies including water. From then on, there have been many developments and improvements to increase the water supply forSingapore.
The great development for Singapore was in the 1960s and 1970s. In order to maintain that, many big water projects were embarked upon to increase the water supply. Examples of these projects included the Kranji-Pandan Scheme, the Upper Pierce Project and the Western Catchment Water Scheme. By 2001, there were 19 raw water reservoirs, 9 treatment works and 14 storage or service reservoirs locally to serve domestic needs.
A barrage has been constructed around the estuary of three Singapore rivers, creating a huge freshwater reservoir, the Marina Bay reservoir or now known as the Marina Barrage. When inaugurated at the end of October, 2008, it increased the rainfall catchment to two-thirds of the country's surface area from one half. It provides water supply, flood control and a new lifestyle attraction.
Imported water supply
For decades, Singapore has relied on importation fromMalaysia to supply half of the water consumption inSingapore. However the two water agreements that supply Singapore this water are due to expire by 2011 and 2061 respectively and the two countries are engaged in a dispute on the price of water. Without a current resolution, the government of Singaporedecided to increase self-sufficiency in its water supply by introducing Newater and desalinated water.
Water recycle
NEWater is the brand name given to reclaimed water produced by Singapore's public utilities. More specifically, it is treated wastewater (sewage) that has been purified using dual-membrane and ultraviolet technologies, in addition to conventional water treatment processes.
There are three NEWater factories, located at the Bedok, Kranji Water Reclamation Plants, and Seletar Water Reclamation Plant, producing about 20 millionUS gallons per day. About 6% of this is used for indirect potable use, which contributes 1 % of Singapore's potable water requirements. The rest of the water is used at wafer fabrication plants and other non-potable applications in industries. The fourth recycling plant, with a capacity of 32 million gallons per day opened in Ulu Pandan on 15 March 2007. With this new capacity coming on stream, NEWater can now meet 15 % of Singapore's water needs.
Desalination
On 13 September 2005, the country opened its first desalination plant. The plant, located at Tuas, produces 30 million gallons of water each day. Worth S$200 million, it is one of the biggest in the world and meets 10 percent of the country's water needs. The plant also produces bottled water called the Desal H2O. At the desalination plant, sea water is forced through plastic membranes with microscopic pores to extract dissolved salts. Silt is removed by dousing the seawater with chemicals that coagulate the particles.
