May 20, 2010
Plans are underway to replace imported water with recycled
wastewater and desalinated water in Singapore.
Singapore
is building water supply infrastructure to become self-sufficient
and end a water import agreement with Malaysia when it expires in
2011, the country’s water minister said last month according to the
Straits Times.
Singapore, a small island off the southern tip of the Malay
peninsula, currently imports nearly 40 percent of its
300-million-gallon daily demand from its neighbor. In addition to
the agreement expiring next year, the two countries have another
supply contract that expires in 2061. According these agreements,
Singapore pays three Malaysian sen (US$.01) per 1,000 gallons of
raw water, as well as rent for the land. Singapore also pays to
maintain the waterworks in Johor State, where the water is
withdrawn, and provides Johor with subsidized, treated water.
However, with the construction of new domestic supply systems,
Singapore–home to nearly five million people–plans to meet its own
demands.
In 2003 the country opened its first wastewater recycling
plant–a supply source that has been rebranded as NEWater–and now
four plants provide 15 percent of the island’s water demand. A
fifth plant opening this month will increase NEWater’s supply share
to 30 percent, adding a treatment capacity of 50 million gallons
per day. The reclaimed water will be blended with water in
reservoirs before entering the public system.
The country’s second strategy for weaning off water imports is
to invest in desalination plants. The first such plant opened in
2005 and supplies 10 percent of Singapore’s demand. A larger,
second plant is under construction and expected to be completed in
20 months.
“With these new sources, we have diversified our water supply
and built up a robust system,” said Environment and Water Minister
Yaacob Ibrahim said to the Straits Times.
New reservoirs are also being built to collect rainwater. In
order to maximize the catchment area of the island, a series of
pipes and canals divert precipitation to 17 reservoirs.
Malaysia has long used Singapore’s water dependency as a
political tool, and Singapore’s move to self-sufficiency, though
potentially more expensive than imports, is an attempt to
counterbalance the situation.
Source:
Straits Times,
Singapore Public Utility Board
http://www.circleofblue.org/waternews/2010/world/singapore-will-cut-water-imports-from-malaysia-pursue-self-sufficiency/