[h=2]Adequate water supply is common sense, not foresight[/h]
March 18th, 2014 |
Author: Contributions
I refer to the 27 Feb 2014 Straits Times letter “adequate water
supply a result of govt’s foresight” by Mr Ho Kong Loon [1].
Mr Ho said the Singapore government understood the critical need to act
decisively to ensure adequate water supply in 1998. This Mr Ho said is the
government’s determination, wherewithal and foresight to continually seek long
term solutions to problems.
However according to PUB website’s [2], NEWater wasn’t an overnight success,
the Singapore government had already attempted to turn used water into potable
water back in 1974, 24 years before 1998. Our first Water Master Plan was also
conceived in 1972. Thus, the understanding of the need to act decisively to
ensure adequate water supply did not happen in 1998 but at least a quarter
century before that.
The website also explained how the initial attempt to reclaim water in 1974
had to be shelved due to high cost and how it was only in the late 1990s that
the cost of membrane technology had come down sufficiently to make NEWater
commercially viable [2].
If the government was really determined to seek long term solutions to
problems, it would have continued with its 1974 effort to reclaim water rather
than shelve the project for nearly a quarter of a century until technology
becomes viable. In other words, if technology had not become viable in the late
1990s, this ‘determination’ to reclaim water in 1998 would not have been
possible. Thus, as with most other things, the government is driven more by
events and circumstances than by intrinsic determination.
Even if we were to look back at the seminal 1972 Water Master Plan, it was
also hardly a plan conceived out of foresight but a natural reaction to events
and circumstances. Straits Times reported how 10 months of water rationing
between 1963 and 1964 due to drought kept Singapore leaders awake at night [3]
and how LKY referred to it as a matter of life and death that could lead to war
because Tunku Abdul Rahman had threatened to turn off the water supply in 1965
if Singapore didn’t do his bidding [3] and how the Japanese blew up the pipes
carrying water to Singapore in 1942 [3] which ultimately led to Singapore’s
surrender.
The gravity of these three events along with many other water related events
should make it clear to any average Joe of the acute need to ensure adequate
water supply. Given this context, it is bewildering why anyone should consider
this a matter of foresight rather than a matter of common sense.
Thank you
Ng Kok
Lim
[1] Straits Times forum, adequate water
supply a result of Govt’s foresight, 27 Feb 2014
THE current prolonged dry spell, which has also badly affected some states in
Malaysia, brought about quite dissimilar reactions on either side of the
Causeway (“S’pore experiencing record dry spell – and it could get worse”;
Tuesday).
National water agency PUB has been pumping massive amounts of Newater into
our reservoirs to maintain water levels.
Thus, Singaporeans can go about their daily activities without worrying that
their water supply may be cut off due to dangerously low water levels at our
reservoirs.
But some Malaysian states have had to ration water (“Selangor to ration
water; other states may follow suit”; Tuesday).
Thousands wait for water trucks to arrive with the precious commodity, which
is sufficient for only cooking, drinking and, possibly, washing.
In 1998, the Singapore Government understood the critical need to act
decisively to ensure Singaporeans will have an adequate supply of potable and
non-potable water in the event of long droughts or other emergencies.
At the same time, some top Malaysian politicians threatened to cut off the
raw water supply to Singapore when it suited their political agendas.
Our initial forays into Newater met with derision and even contempt from some
Singaporeans. PUB had its work cut out to educate the public that Newater was
safe to drink.
Currently, the four Newater plants and two desalination plants, which turn
seawater into potable water, have allowed Singapore to obtain water using
non-traditional methods.
Both initiatives, which involved huge capital outlays, were carried out only
after years of meticulous study into their viability.
With hindsight, Singaporeans can take comfort in the fact that the Government
had the determination, wherewithal and foresight to continually seek long-term
solutions to problems.
Ho Kong Loon
[2] http://www.pub.gov.sg/about/historyfuture/Pages/NEWater.aspx
NEWater History
NEWater may sound like an overnight success for Singapore. But its evolution
is a journey that spanned 3 decades.
Singapore’s first water masterplan was drawn up in 1972. In 1974, PUB built a
pilot plant to turn used water into potable water. This was the precursor of
today’s NEWater factories. But it was ahead of its time. The costs were
astronomical and the membranes were unreliable, so the idea was shelved to await
further technological advancement.
In 1998, the necessary technology had matured and driven production costs
down. In May 2000, the first NEWater plant was completed.
[3] Straits Times, Quenching Singapore’s thirst, 3 Sept 2011
A water pact with Malaysia upon which Singapore used to depend expired this
week. Its end was marked by a cordial handover of a water catchment area in
Johor and treatment facilities – a powerful testament of Singapore’s progress
towards greater self-sufficiency in water. Insight tells the story of that
quest.
A SIMPLE turn of the tap did not guarantee water if you happened to be in
Singapore on April 24, 1963.
It was the first day of a water rationing exercise that would last 10
months.
An unusually dry spell both in Singapore and in the Tebrau River area in
Johor – a primary water source for the island – caused water stocks to plunge
dramatically, leaving the authorities with little choice but to impose
restrictions.
For four days a week, depending on which area you lived in, you were either
deprived of water between 8am and 2pm or between 2pm and 8pm.
People who did not ordinarily read the newspapers or listen to the radio
suddenly found themselves having to scan headlines or turn knobs at least once a
week – to stay informed about rationing schedules.
Those who forgot to store water in pails at home during the allocated timings
had to stand in queues to use public taps.
The cost of food went up.
A government advisory that called for the washing of cars and watering of
gardens to be ‘kept to a minimum’ clearly did not stop some. A forum letter in
The Straits Times on May 3 had one reader wondering ‘why the gentleman living
opposite me still finds it necessary to water his lawn non-stop for 14 minutes’
a day.
Eerily, the spying on neighbours went further than that.
Another letter on May 17 read: ‘At a time when the state is facing an acute
water shortage, is it proper for a person to bathe three times a day? That is
exactly what my neighbour and his six children are doing every day of the
week.’
Eventually, the rain returned and the reservoirs filled up. Curbs were
finally lifted on Feb 28, 1964 – ironically, on a day when heavy rainfall caused
an 11-year- old boy to drown.
Singaporeans who lived through that angsty period learnt a lesson they never
forgot: that water, or the lack thereof, was a major source of weakness for the
island-state.
This week, a no less momentous milestone in Singapore’s aquatic history was
crossed, but with far less public interest. A 50-year water agreement signed in
1961 – one of just two between Singapore and Malaysia – drew to a close.
As a result, a catchment area in Johor more than five times the size of
Singapore’s Central Catchment Nature Reserve ceased to serve Singapore’s water
needs, but with nary an eyebrow raised.
Public indifference, however, can be seen in a positive light. It is arguably
a testament to Singapore’s success in overcoming its water vulnerabilities.
What has happened since 1963?
In the words of Dr Joey Long of the S. Rajaratnam School of International
Studies, ‘the tables have turned’.
‘While in the initial years Singapore’s access to adequate water was viewed
through the lens of security and survival, Singapore’s present circumstances
should be viewed with more optimism,’ he said.
In 50 years, a virtuous mix of visionary leadership, meticulous groundwork
and scientific advancements has helped Singapore exorcise her hydro-demons.
A tiny island-state ranked 170th out of a list of 190 nations in fresh water
availability appears to be leapfrogging its way into water independence.
A matter of life and death
BUT there was a time when the situation was a lot more tense – and not just
because people had to line up at public taps and tolerate dirty cars.
In 1970, seven years after that depressing drought, water security continued
to keep Singapore’s leaders awake at night.
‘If these chaps do not observe the agreements, it will be a very serious
matter for us,’ said then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, referring to the two
Singapore-Malaysia water agreements, in a meeting with Professor S. Jayakumar
before he took over as Singapore’s permanent representative to the United
Nations.
‘It is a matter of life and death… it can lead to war,’ he added.
Never far from Mr Lee’s mind was the threat from Malaysian premier Tunku
Abdul Rahman, relayed to him by the British, that ‘if Singapore doesn’t do what
I want, I’ll switch off the water supply’.
Coming just days after independence, the threat – though never acted upon –
convinced him that ‘as long as I was totally dependent on Malaysia’s water
supply, we would always be a satellite’.
That, combined with the Japanese blowing up water pipes that carried water
across the strait from Johor in 1942, was what drove him to seek water
self-sufficiency from the get-go, he later revealed.
The cards dealt to Singapore in 1965 were not promising.
The bulk of its water came from Johor. Two agreements signed in 1961 and 1962
allowed Singapore to buy water for 3 sen per 1,000 gallons (4,546 litres),
excluding land rental costs in the catchment areas.
The expiry dates of the two water pacts were 2011 and 2061 respectively.
The 1961 agreement gave Singapore full and exclusive rights to draw water
from Gunung Pulai, Pontian, Skudai and Tebrau. The 1962 agreement allowed
Singapore to collect up to 250 million gallons of water a day from Johor
River.
In exchange, treated water was sold back to Johor at the price of 50 sen per
1,000 gallons, which was below cost.
The two agreements were confirmed by both Singapore and Malaysia in their
separation agreement and promptly lodged with the UN.
The British also left behind three reservoirs – MacRitchie, Peirce and
Seletar.
At once, Mr Lee and his Government swung into action. One of his first
initiatives: forming a unit under the Prime Minister’s Office to coordinate
water policy.
Singapore lacked natural aquifers and groundwater. But it did not lack
rainfall, per se, receiving from the heavens 2,400mm annually, comfortably
higher than the global average of 1,050mm.
Rather, what could not be found in abundance were water bodies and land that
could ‘catch’ the rain.
In 1969, the capacity of Seletar Reservoir was enlarged and its catchment
scope broadened.
The 1970s saw a flurry of activity.
The Government began studying the feasibility of various conventional and
not-so-conventional water sources, and published in 1972 the Water Master Plan.
This is seen by water experts as the first long-term blueprint for water
resource development here.
Upper Peirce Reservoir was completed in 1975. That same year, Kranji River
was dammed to separate seawater from freshwater. This created Kranji Reservoir –
one of the first of several reservoirs formed this way.
But the Government also took chances with the not-so-likely. It constructed
an experimental plant to recycle used water – a predecessor to Newater.
Unfortunately, the requisite technologies, such as reverse osmosis, were
still premature. The tests failed to persuade policymakers that the idea was
sufficiently economical or reliable and no permanent plant was built.
As the economy grew rapidly, it soon also became clear that Singapore could
not simply expand reservoirs indefinitely. Industry was competing for land
use.
A concerted effort at promoting conservation began. The first ‘Water is
precious’ campaign, launched in 1971, reduced water consumption by 5 per
cent.
Four decades on, the public education drive continues in schools, factories
and the media, whether it is exemplifying ‘water efficient homes’ with toilets
that use cistern water-saving bags or mandating self-shutting delayed action
taps in buildings. To drive home the message, a water conservation tax was later
introduced. It is levied today at a rate of 30 per cent for the first 40 litres
per month. Beyond that, the tax rises to 45 per cent. The Government’s aim is to
cut per capita consumption from 155 litres today to 140 litres by 2030.
The 1980s and 1990s
THE 1980s saw both bright spots and dark ones in bilateral ties. From time to
time, threats to fiddle with Singapore’s water supply, whether serious or not,
emanated from Malaysian society or officialdom or both.
In 1986, for instance, the visit of Israeli President Chaim Herzog to
Singapore stoked anger across the causeway, prompting some to call for the
treaties to be revoked or at least re-negotiated.
There was good reason for optimism in the late 1980s, when the two sides
penned an agreement supplementing the 1962 one. Singapore was given the go-ahead
to build a dam across Johor River and to buy water over and above the original
limit of 250 million gallons a day.
A decade passed. As it considered its long-term water needs, Singapore’s
leaders decided to negotiate supplementary agreements to extend the supply of
water from Johor beyond 2061.
In 1998, in the wake of the Asian financial crisis, the two sides came close
to an agreement on a ‘water-for-funds’ deal, which was later called off.
Another round of talks took place in 2000 but differences remained over the
sale price of raw water from Johor. There was initial agreement to raise the
price from 3 sen per 1,000 gallons to 45 sen, and later to 60 sen.
Malaysia then said it wanted to unilaterally revise the price to RM6.25 per
thousand gallons, a move Singapore insisted was not legally sound. After rounds
of strongly worded exchanges in various forms, the matter quietened.
Ambitious new strategy to add two big taps
Four big taps
THE Singapore Government had been hard at work exploring alternative sources
of water.
Even as talks with Malaysia ran into an impasse, efforts on another front
were headed for a breakthrough that would ‘change the whole equation’, in the
words of Dr Lee Poh Onn, a fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian
Studies.
After the failed 1974 experiment, Singapore decided to give recycled water
another shot, sending two engineers to the United States in 1998 for a study
trip.
Upon their return, they reported findings that suggested recycling had become
viable, thanks to, among other things, advances in membrane technology.
Subsequent studies corroborated the findings, prompting the Government to
construct the first demo plant in Bedok in 2000.
The three-step process eventually adopted for the production of Newater
involved filtration and reverse osmosis, removing particles as small as 0.001
microns before disinfecting the water under ultraviolet light. The water met US
and UN standards and was, indeed, purer than tap water.
By May 2002, the Government was finally ready to go public with its bold new
water strategy.
It was an ambitious plan to double the different types of water sources
Singapore relied upon from two to four by 2011, the year the 1961 agreement with
Malaysia expired.
Instead of relying only on water collected in reservoirs here and bought from
Johor, there would be ‘four big national taps’ within 10 years. The two new
‘taps’ were desalination plants and Newater or water-reclamation plants.
In his speech to Parliament, then Environment Minister Lim Swee Say declared:
‘Singapore certainly can become completely self-sufficient after 2061, if need
be.’
The year 2061 was significant as it was when the 1962 water agreement with
Malaysia would expire.
A toast to the future
FOR Newater to succeed, the public had to be willing to drink water that was
previously sewage.
‘Public acceptance is not guaranteed at the start. Recycled water has been
rejected in Australia, where people term it ‘yuck’ water,’ said Dr Eduardo
Araral, assistant dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the
National University of Singapore.
‘Singaporeans accepted it both because they are are pragmatic and because
they trust the Government’s promise that Newater is safe to drink,’ he
added.
Some 60,000 ‘toasted’ with bottled Newater during the 2002 National Day
Parade, including Mr Goh Chok Tong, who was then Prime Minister. Singapore now
has five Newater plants, the largest of which is at Changi. Newater is used both
in industries and indirectly for households, after it is mixed into
reservoirs.
The next significant breakthrough came in desalination technology, although
some call this success story a work in progress.
As the cost of desalting seawater fell by more than half in the decade
leading up to 2002, PUB called for and received tenders to build a plant. In
2005, a desalination facility using reverse osmosis membranes was commissioned
in Tuas. It was built by SingSpring, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hyflux. A
second desalination plant in Tuas should be ready by 2013.
Of the current daily consumption of 380 million gallons, Newater and
desalination now make up 40 per cent. PUB aims to raise that to 80 per cent by
2061, when all agreements with Johor expire.
Meanwhile, work on other fronts continue.
The completion of Marina Barrage in 2008 increased Singapore’s water
catchment area from half of its total land area to more than two-thirds. Studies
are under way on the possibility of increasing this in future to 90 per cent
through the use of treatment plants that handle both salt water and fresh water.
There are now 17 reservoirs – up from three in 1965 – including Marina, Punggol
and Serangoon.
Less visible upgrades may not be any less important. PUB has an ongoing
programme to replace leaky asbestos cement water pipes with more
corrosion-resistant ones. Also, an underground system of pumps and pipes
connecting Singapore’s reservoirs was completed in 2007 to prevent wastage by
transferring water from full reservoirs to less full ones.
Turning weakness to strength
‘I NEVER imagined we could progress from a situation of crisis to the
situation of opportunity today,’ said Dr Lee.
A dramatic turn of events, which he ultimately puts down to political will,
means the water issue is now more likely to evoke hope than anxiety.
Research and development projects are creating jobs and expertise that can be
exported. The PUB expects the GDP contribution from the water sector to grow
from $0.5 billion in 2003 to $1.7 billion in 2015, with the number of jobs
doubling to 11,000 by 2015.
To be sure, some latent risks remain.
Dr Araral warns, for instance, that skyrocketing energy prices in the future
may yet cause problems for the much-vaunted but relatively fuel-guzzling
desalination project, although that may in turn spur the development of other
sources of water.
Terrorism, too, could derail the most carefully constructed of systems.
‘Security experts note that water reservoirs are attractive targets of
terrorists,’ he said.
Nevertheless, most agree that whatever happens in the future, the
achievements as they stand today already exceed the wildest of expectations –
not least among them those of the water rationing generation.
Singaporeans can rest with the firm assurance that their secure access to
this life-giving commodity is no longer in the hands of others.
The water story
1857: Philanthropist Tan Kim Seng donated $13,000 to construct Singapore’s
first waterworks and piped water supply.
1867: Singapore’s first reservoir, MacRitchie, completed.
1927: Water agreement signed between British-controlled Singapore and Johor
Sultan. This agreement is superseded by the 1961 agreement.
1961: First water agreement signed between Singapore and Malaysia. Singapore
gets full, exclusive rights to draw water from Gunung Pulai and three other
areas for 3 sen per 1,000 gallons.
1962: Second Singapore-Malaysia water agreement signed, allowing Singapore to
buy water from Johor River at the same price.
1963: Public Utilities Board (PUB) set up to take charge of water supply.
Also, start of 10-month-long water rationing due to drought.
1965: Singapore separated from Malaysia. Both countries agree to abide by
1961 and 1962 agreements.
1971: First water conservation campaign launched.
1977: Start of 10-year-long Clean Singapore River campaign.
1990: Signing of supplement to 1962 agreement, allowing Singapore to build a
dam across Johor River and to buy water over and above original quota of 250
million gallons a day.
2000: The beginning of Singapore- Malaysia water talks that end in stalemate
in 2003. The two sides could not agree on price.
2001: Restructuring of PUB so it took charge of not only water supply, but
also drainage, water reclamation plants and sewerage systems.
2002: Launch of Newater – or recycled water – technology, which decisively
paves the way towards water independence for Singapore.
2005: First desalination plant completed in Tuas. A second plant, also in
Tuas, is expected by 2013.
2008: Inaugural International Water Week, which became an annual conference
on water solutions. Also, Marina Barrage was completed, the first reservoir here
in the heart of the city.
2011: 1961 water agreement with Malaysia lapsed. Singapore returns all land
and facilities, saying handover does not affect adequacy of water
supply.
supply a result of govt’s foresight” by Mr Ho Kong Loon [1].
Mr Ho said the Singapore government understood the critical need to act
decisively to ensure adequate water supply in 1998. This Mr Ho said is the
government’s determination, wherewithal and foresight to continually seek long
term solutions to problems.
However according to PUB website’s [2], NEWater wasn’t an overnight success,
the Singapore government had already attempted to turn used water into potable
water back in 1974, 24 years before 1998. Our first Water Master Plan was also
conceived in 1972. Thus, the understanding of the need to act decisively to
ensure adequate water supply did not happen in 1998 but at least a quarter
century before that.
The website also explained how the initial attempt to reclaim water in 1974
had to be shelved due to high cost and how it was only in the late 1990s that
the cost of membrane technology had come down sufficiently to make NEWater
commercially viable [2].
If the government was really determined to seek long term solutions to
problems, it would have continued with its 1974 effort to reclaim water rather
than shelve the project for nearly a quarter of a century until technology
becomes viable. In other words, if technology had not become viable in the late
1990s, this ‘determination’ to reclaim water in 1998 would not have been
possible. Thus, as with most other things, the government is driven more by
events and circumstances than by intrinsic determination.
Even if we were to look back at the seminal 1972 Water Master Plan, it was
also hardly a plan conceived out of foresight but a natural reaction to events
and circumstances. Straits Times reported how 10 months of water rationing
between 1963 and 1964 due to drought kept Singapore leaders awake at night [3]
and how LKY referred to it as a matter of life and death that could lead to war
because Tunku Abdul Rahman had threatened to turn off the water supply in 1965
if Singapore didn’t do his bidding [3] and how the Japanese blew up the pipes
carrying water to Singapore in 1942 [3] which ultimately led to Singapore’s
surrender.
The gravity of these three events along with many other water related events
should make it clear to any average Joe of the acute need to ensure adequate
water supply. Given this context, it is bewildering why anyone should consider
this a matter of foresight rather than a matter of common sense.
Thank you
Ng Kok
Lim
[1] Straits Times forum, adequate water
supply a result of Govt’s foresight, 27 Feb 2014
THE current prolonged dry spell, which has also badly affected some states in
Malaysia, brought about quite dissimilar reactions on either side of the
Causeway (“S’pore experiencing record dry spell – and it could get worse”;
Tuesday).
National water agency PUB has been pumping massive amounts of Newater into
our reservoirs to maintain water levels.
Thus, Singaporeans can go about their daily activities without worrying that
their water supply may be cut off due to dangerously low water levels at our
reservoirs.
But some Malaysian states have had to ration water (“Selangor to ration
water; other states may follow suit”; Tuesday).
Thousands wait for water trucks to arrive with the precious commodity, which
is sufficient for only cooking, drinking and, possibly, washing.
In 1998, the Singapore Government understood the critical need to act
decisively to ensure Singaporeans will have an adequate supply of potable and
non-potable water in the event of long droughts or other emergencies.
At the same time, some top Malaysian politicians threatened to cut off the
raw water supply to Singapore when it suited their political agendas.
Our initial forays into Newater met with derision and even contempt from some
Singaporeans. PUB had its work cut out to educate the public that Newater was
safe to drink.
Currently, the four Newater plants and two desalination plants, which turn
seawater into potable water, have allowed Singapore to obtain water using
non-traditional methods.
Both initiatives, which involved huge capital outlays, were carried out only
after years of meticulous study into their viability.
With hindsight, Singaporeans can take comfort in the fact that the Government
had the determination, wherewithal and foresight to continually seek long-term
solutions to problems.
Ho Kong Loon
NEWater History
NEWater may sound like an overnight success for Singapore. But its evolution
is a journey that spanned 3 decades.
Singapore’s first water masterplan was drawn up in 1972. In 1974, PUB built a
pilot plant to turn used water into potable water. This was the precursor of
today’s NEWater factories. But it was ahead of its time. The costs were
astronomical and the membranes were unreliable, so the idea was shelved to await
further technological advancement.
In 1998, the necessary technology had matured and driven production costs
down. In May 2000, the first NEWater plant was completed.
A water pact with Malaysia upon which Singapore used to depend expired this
week. Its end was marked by a cordial handover of a water catchment area in
Johor and treatment facilities – a powerful testament of Singapore’s progress
towards greater self-sufficiency in water. Insight tells the story of that
quest.
A SIMPLE turn of the tap did not guarantee water if you happened to be in
Singapore on April 24, 1963.
It was the first day of a water rationing exercise that would last 10
months.
An unusually dry spell both in Singapore and in the Tebrau River area in
Johor – a primary water source for the island – caused water stocks to plunge
dramatically, leaving the authorities with little choice but to impose
restrictions.
For four days a week, depending on which area you lived in, you were either
deprived of water between 8am and 2pm or between 2pm and 8pm.
People who did not ordinarily read the newspapers or listen to the radio
suddenly found themselves having to scan headlines or turn knobs at least once a
week – to stay informed about rationing schedules.
Those who forgot to store water in pails at home during the allocated timings
had to stand in queues to use public taps.
The cost of food went up.
A government advisory that called for the washing of cars and watering of
gardens to be ‘kept to a minimum’ clearly did not stop some. A forum letter in
The Straits Times on May 3 had one reader wondering ‘why the gentleman living
opposite me still finds it necessary to water his lawn non-stop for 14 minutes’
a day.
Eerily, the spying on neighbours went further than that.
Another letter on May 17 read: ‘At a time when the state is facing an acute
water shortage, is it proper for a person to bathe three times a day? That is
exactly what my neighbour and his six children are doing every day of the
week.’
Eventually, the rain returned and the reservoirs filled up. Curbs were
finally lifted on Feb 28, 1964 – ironically, on a day when heavy rainfall caused
an 11-year- old boy to drown.
Singaporeans who lived through that angsty period learnt a lesson they never
forgot: that water, or the lack thereof, was a major source of weakness for the
island-state.
This week, a no less momentous milestone in Singapore’s aquatic history was
crossed, but with far less public interest. A 50-year water agreement signed in
1961 – one of just two between Singapore and Malaysia – drew to a close.
As a result, a catchment area in Johor more than five times the size of
Singapore’s Central Catchment Nature Reserve ceased to serve Singapore’s water
needs, but with nary an eyebrow raised.
Public indifference, however, can be seen in a positive light. It is arguably
a testament to Singapore’s success in overcoming its water vulnerabilities.
What has happened since 1963?
In the words of Dr Joey Long of the S. Rajaratnam School of International
Studies, ‘the tables have turned’.
‘While in the initial years Singapore’s access to adequate water was viewed
through the lens of security and survival, Singapore’s present circumstances
should be viewed with more optimism,’ he said.
In 50 years, a virtuous mix of visionary leadership, meticulous groundwork
and scientific advancements has helped Singapore exorcise her hydro-demons.
A tiny island-state ranked 170th out of a list of 190 nations in fresh water
availability appears to be leapfrogging its way into water independence.
A matter of life and death
BUT there was a time when the situation was a lot more tense – and not just
because people had to line up at public taps and tolerate dirty cars.
In 1970, seven years after that depressing drought, water security continued
to keep Singapore’s leaders awake at night.
‘If these chaps do not observe the agreements, it will be a very serious
matter for us,’ said then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, referring to the two
Singapore-Malaysia water agreements, in a meeting with Professor S. Jayakumar
before he took over as Singapore’s permanent representative to the United
Nations.
‘It is a matter of life and death… it can lead to war,’ he added.
Never far from Mr Lee’s mind was the threat from Malaysian premier Tunku
Abdul Rahman, relayed to him by the British, that ‘if Singapore doesn’t do what
I want, I’ll switch off the water supply’.
Coming just days after independence, the threat – though never acted upon –
convinced him that ‘as long as I was totally dependent on Malaysia’s water
supply, we would always be a satellite’.
That, combined with the Japanese blowing up water pipes that carried water
across the strait from Johor in 1942, was what drove him to seek water
self-sufficiency from the get-go, he later revealed.
The cards dealt to Singapore in 1965 were not promising.
The bulk of its water came from Johor. Two agreements signed in 1961 and 1962
allowed Singapore to buy water for 3 sen per 1,000 gallons (4,546 litres),
excluding land rental costs in the catchment areas.
The expiry dates of the two water pacts were 2011 and 2061 respectively.
The 1961 agreement gave Singapore full and exclusive rights to draw water
from Gunung Pulai, Pontian, Skudai and Tebrau. The 1962 agreement allowed
Singapore to collect up to 250 million gallons of water a day from Johor
River.
In exchange, treated water was sold back to Johor at the price of 50 sen per
1,000 gallons, which was below cost.
The two agreements were confirmed by both Singapore and Malaysia in their
separation agreement and promptly lodged with the UN.
The British also left behind three reservoirs – MacRitchie, Peirce and
Seletar.
At once, Mr Lee and his Government swung into action. One of his first
initiatives: forming a unit under the Prime Minister’s Office to coordinate
water policy.
Singapore lacked natural aquifers and groundwater. But it did not lack
rainfall, per se, receiving from the heavens 2,400mm annually, comfortably
higher than the global average of 1,050mm.
Rather, what could not be found in abundance were water bodies and land that
could ‘catch’ the rain.
In 1969, the capacity of Seletar Reservoir was enlarged and its catchment
scope broadened.
The 1970s saw a flurry of activity.
The Government began studying the feasibility of various conventional and
not-so-conventional water sources, and published in 1972 the Water Master Plan.
This is seen by water experts as the first long-term blueprint for water
resource development here.
Upper Peirce Reservoir was completed in 1975. That same year, Kranji River
was dammed to separate seawater from freshwater. This created Kranji Reservoir –
one of the first of several reservoirs formed this way.
But the Government also took chances with the not-so-likely. It constructed
an experimental plant to recycle used water – a predecessor to Newater.
Unfortunately, the requisite technologies, such as reverse osmosis, were
still premature. The tests failed to persuade policymakers that the idea was
sufficiently economical or reliable and no permanent plant was built.
As the economy grew rapidly, it soon also became clear that Singapore could
not simply expand reservoirs indefinitely. Industry was competing for land
use.
A concerted effort at promoting conservation began. The first ‘Water is
precious’ campaign, launched in 1971, reduced water consumption by 5 per
cent.
Four decades on, the public education drive continues in schools, factories
and the media, whether it is exemplifying ‘water efficient homes’ with toilets
that use cistern water-saving bags or mandating self-shutting delayed action
taps in buildings. To drive home the message, a water conservation tax was later
introduced. It is levied today at a rate of 30 per cent for the first 40 litres
per month. Beyond that, the tax rises to 45 per cent. The Government’s aim is to
cut per capita consumption from 155 litres today to 140 litres by 2030.
The 1980s and 1990s
THE 1980s saw both bright spots and dark ones in bilateral ties. From time to
time, threats to fiddle with Singapore’s water supply, whether serious or not,
emanated from Malaysian society or officialdom or both.
In 1986, for instance, the visit of Israeli President Chaim Herzog to
Singapore stoked anger across the causeway, prompting some to call for the
treaties to be revoked or at least re-negotiated.
There was good reason for optimism in the late 1980s, when the two sides
penned an agreement supplementing the 1962 one. Singapore was given the go-ahead
to build a dam across Johor River and to buy water over and above the original
limit of 250 million gallons a day.
A decade passed. As it considered its long-term water needs, Singapore’s
leaders decided to negotiate supplementary agreements to extend the supply of
water from Johor beyond 2061.
In 1998, in the wake of the Asian financial crisis, the two sides came close
to an agreement on a ‘water-for-funds’ deal, which was later called off.
Another round of talks took place in 2000 but differences remained over the
sale price of raw water from Johor. There was initial agreement to raise the
price from 3 sen per 1,000 gallons to 45 sen, and later to 60 sen.
Malaysia then said it wanted to unilaterally revise the price to RM6.25 per
thousand gallons, a move Singapore insisted was not legally sound. After rounds
of strongly worded exchanges in various forms, the matter quietened.
Ambitious new strategy to add two big taps
Four big taps
THE Singapore Government had been hard at work exploring alternative sources
of water.
Even as talks with Malaysia ran into an impasse, efforts on another front
were headed for a breakthrough that would ‘change the whole equation’, in the
words of Dr Lee Poh Onn, a fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian
Studies.
After the failed 1974 experiment, Singapore decided to give recycled water
another shot, sending two engineers to the United States in 1998 for a study
trip.
Upon their return, they reported findings that suggested recycling had become
viable, thanks to, among other things, advances in membrane technology.
Subsequent studies corroborated the findings, prompting the Government to
construct the first demo plant in Bedok in 2000.
The three-step process eventually adopted for the production of Newater
involved filtration and reverse osmosis, removing particles as small as 0.001
microns before disinfecting the water under ultraviolet light. The water met US
and UN standards and was, indeed, purer than tap water.
By May 2002, the Government was finally ready to go public with its bold new
water strategy.
It was an ambitious plan to double the different types of water sources
Singapore relied upon from two to four by 2011, the year the 1961 agreement with
Malaysia expired.
Instead of relying only on water collected in reservoirs here and bought from
Johor, there would be ‘four big national taps’ within 10 years. The two new
‘taps’ were desalination plants and Newater or water-reclamation plants.
In his speech to Parliament, then Environment Minister Lim Swee Say declared:
‘Singapore certainly can become completely self-sufficient after 2061, if need
be.’
The year 2061 was significant as it was when the 1962 water agreement with
Malaysia would expire.
A toast to the future
FOR Newater to succeed, the public had to be willing to drink water that was
previously sewage.
‘Public acceptance is not guaranteed at the start. Recycled water has been
rejected in Australia, where people term it ‘yuck’ water,’ said Dr Eduardo
Araral, assistant dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the
National University of Singapore.
‘Singaporeans accepted it both because they are are pragmatic and because
they trust the Government’s promise that Newater is safe to drink,’ he
added.
Some 60,000 ‘toasted’ with bottled Newater during the 2002 National Day
Parade, including Mr Goh Chok Tong, who was then Prime Minister. Singapore now
has five Newater plants, the largest of which is at Changi. Newater is used both
in industries and indirectly for households, after it is mixed into
reservoirs.
The next significant breakthrough came in desalination technology, although
some call this success story a work in progress.
As the cost of desalting seawater fell by more than half in the decade
leading up to 2002, PUB called for and received tenders to build a plant. In
2005, a desalination facility using reverse osmosis membranes was commissioned
in Tuas. It was built by SingSpring, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hyflux. A
second desalination plant in Tuas should be ready by 2013.
Of the current daily consumption of 380 million gallons, Newater and
desalination now make up 40 per cent. PUB aims to raise that to 80 per cent by
2061, when all agreements with Johor expire.
Meanwhile, work on other fronts continue.
The completion of Marina Barrage in 2008 increased Singapore’s water
catchment area from half of its total land area to more than two-thirds. Studies
are under way on the possibility of increasing this in future to 90 per cent
through the use of treatment plants that handle both salt water and fresh water.
There are now 17 reservoirs – up from three in 1965 – including Marina, Punggol
and Serangoon.
Less visible upgrades may not be any less important. PUB has an ongoing
programme to replace leaky asbestos cement water pipes with more
corrosion-resistant ones. Also, an underground system of pumps and pipes
connecting Singapore’s reservoirs was completed in 2007 to prevent wastage by
transferring water from full reservoirs to less full ones.
Turning weakness to strength
‘I NEVER imagined we could progress from a situation of crisis to the
situation of opportunity today,’ said Dr Lee.
A dramatic turn of events, which he ultimately puts down to political will,
means the water issue is now more likely to evoke hope than anxiety.
Research and development projects are creating jobs and expertise that can be
exported. The PUB expects the GDP contribution from the water sector to grow
from $0.5 billion in 2003 to $1.7 billion in 2015, with the number of jobs
doubling to 11,000 by 2015.
To be sure, some latent risks remain.
Dr Araral warns, for instance, that skyrocketing energy prices in the future
may yet cause problems for the much-vaunted but relatively fuel-guzzling
desalination project, although that may in turn spur the development of other
sources of water.
Terrorism, too, could derail the most carefully constructed of systems.
‘Security experts note that water reservoirs are attractive targets of
terrorists,’ he said.
Nevertheless, most agree that whatever happens in the future, the
achievements as they stand today already exceed the wildest of expectations –
not least among them those of the water rationing generation.
Singaporeans can rest with the firm assurance that their secure access to
this life-giving commodity is no longer in the hands of others.
The water story
1857: Philanthropist Tan Kim Seng donated $13,000 to construct Singapore’s
first waterworks and piped water supply.
1867: Singapore’s first reservoir, MacRitchie, completed.
1927: Water agreement signed between British-controlled Singapore and Johor
Sultan. This agreement is superseded by the 1961 agreement.
1961: First water agreement signed between Singapore and Malaysia. Singapore
gets full, exclusive rights to draw water from Gunung Pulai and three other
areas for 3 sen per 1,000 gallons.
1962: Second Singapore-Malaysia water agreement signed, allowing Singapore to
buy water from Johor River at the same price.
1963: Public Utilities Board (PUB) set up to take charge of water supply.
Also, start of 10-month-long water rationing due to drought.
1965: Singapore separated from Malaysia. Both countries agree to abide by
1961 and 1962 agreements.
1971: First water conservation campaign launched.
1977: Start of 10-year-long Clean Singapore River campaign.
1990: Signing of supplement to 1962 agreement, allowing Singapore to build a
dam across Johor River and to buy water over and above original quota of 250
million gallons a day.
2000: The beginning of Singapore- Malaysia water talks that end in stalemate
in 2003. The two sides could not agree on price.
2001: Restructuring of PUB so it took charge of not only water supply, but
also drainage, water reclamation plants and sewerage systems.
2002: Launch of Newater – or recycled water – technology, which decisively
paves the way towards water independence for Singapore.
2005: First desalination plant completed in Tuas. A second plant, also in
Tuas, is expected by 2013.
2008: Inaugural International Water Week, which became an annual conference
on water solutions. Also, Marina Barrage was completed, the first reservoir here
in the heart of the city.
2011: 1961 water agreement with Malaysia lapsed. Singapore returns all land
and facilities, saying handover does not affect adequacy of water
supply.
