PUB launches new initiative to beautify Singapore's waterways

ISSN 1793-002 APRIL / MAY 2006
MM Lee encourages Singaporeans
to take care of water resources
PUB wins Water Agency of the Year
at 2006 Global Water Awards
PUB launches new
initiative to beautify
Singapore’s waterways

Contents
5
PUB is Water Agency of the Year
Active, beautiful, clean waters for all
New technologies boost
Singapore’s water resources
MM Lee encourages
ownership of water
A world of water
At a glance
A PUB that will never run dry
Recognising friends of water
Volunteering for a good cause
3
4
6
7
8
10
12
14
15
7
12
ISSN 1793-002 APRIL / MAY 2006
MM Lee encourages Singaporeans
to take care of water resources
PUB wins Water Agency of the Year
at 2006 Global Water Awards
PUB launches new
initiative to beautify
Singapore’s waterways
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About PUB
PUB is a statutory board under the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources. It is the water agency
that manages Singapore s water supply, water catchment and sewerage in an integrated way.
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 living, for industry, for life, now and for generations to come.
Copyright ' is held by PUB. All rights reserved. The contents of WaterNet may be reproduced subject to approval by PUB.

PUB is Water
Agency of the Year
PUB honoured: Mr Ong Ho Sim,
Managing Director of Singapore
Utilities International was in Dubai
to receive the award on behalf of PUB.
PUB was named Water Agency of the
Year at the recent Global Water Awards
in Dubai, the first winner of this
prestigious award. PUB clinched the title
from four strong contenders — Water and
Electricity Company (Saudi Arabia),
Algerian Energy Company (Algeria),
Ofwat (UK) and Texas Water
Development Board (USA).
However, winning the award isnt about
beating the competition. As PUB s Chief
Executive Khoo Teng Chye said: This
award is the result of 40 years of systematic
and painstaking hard work by PUB to
overcome our limitations in water and
find a sustainable and cost-efficient water
supply solution for Singapore.
Through our investment in R & D, we
have managed to harness technology and
our Four National Taps strategy is now
firmly in place. The breakthrough was
achieved in the last year few years, with
the successful implementation of NEWater
and more recently,low-cost desalination.
Mr Khoo attributed PUB s success to good
policies, excellent inter-agency cooperation
and the strong support of the community.
On what s ahead for Singapore s water
industry, Mr Khoo said: This award will
motivate PUB further and remind us that
even whilst we work hard at finding lowcost
solutions to our water supply, we
have a role to play in sharing our
experience with the global water
community.
We have been doing this through our
subsidiary, Singapore Utilities International
(SUI), which has been providing water
management solutions in China, India,
Indonesia, Brunei and the Middle East.
In awarding PUB this latest honour,
the judges said: PUB has set the
standard which other water agencies
should aspire to.
PUB wasnt the only organisation from
Singapore that made waves at the Global
Water Awards.
Home-grown water company Hyflux won
the Water Company of the Year award
and its SingSpring Desalination Plant at
Tuas was runner-up in the Desalination
Plant of the Year category.
3

Active, beautiful,
clean waters for all
Let your imagination flow: The possibilities are endless with the Active, Beautiful, Clean Water Programme
Imagine a clean, green and also blue Singapore. Over the years,
Singapore has built up its reputation for being a clean and green
city. ˚Under PUB s new ABC Waters programme, the national
water agency will do a lot more to the blue spaces in Singapore.˚˚
The Active, Beautiful, Clean Waters programme (or ABC
Waters for short) will beautify and transform the water bodies
and make them a feature of Singapore s landscape. It will create
community spaces for new lifestyle activities and attractions,
offering more recreational options, and making the water bodies
gorgeous to behold.
The programme will spell new opportunities for commercial
participation too. PUB intends to appoint watershed managers
from private sector companies to manage different water bodies
under the ABC Waters programme. These watershed managers
will oversee both the hardware and the software of the water
bodies — they will take care of the physical aspect and also come
up with ideas to improve the water bodies. In the process, they
will cultivate and consult partners from the 3P (public, private
and people) sectors.
With their participation and ideas in the various initiatives to
liven up and beautify the waterways, we hope the public, private
and people sectors will build a closer relationship with water
and from there, develop a sense of shared ownership for it.
said Yap Kheng Guan, Director of PUB s 3P Network.
Kolam Ayer as a showcase
A 200 m stretch of Kallang River at Kolam Ayer will be the
first to benefit from the ABC Waters Programme. As a major
river with great potential for transformation, Kallang was a
prime candidate for the launch of the programme. In the first
phase, PUB will work together with the National Parks Board
to transform this stretch of Kallang River.
Residents at the launch on 16 April were excited to see the
upcoming plans at Kolam Ayer. Lush greenery such as flowering
shrubs, ornamental grasses and even willow trees will be planted
along the banks of the river to create a sense of softness and
serenity. Boardwalks, pathways and floating decks will lead to
the waterfront, allowing people to rest and recreate right by
the river. Residents and visitors alike will be able to rollerblade,
fish or simply dangle their legs over the water.
The centrepiece of this project will be Singapore s first water
wheel. A natural spot for people to gather, people can pedal
it to make the wheel turn. And the water flowing from the
wheel will be a constant reminder to people to keep the
water clean.˚
4

Kolam Ayer today
Kolam Ayer after some ABC magic
5

To ensure an efficient, adequate and sustainable water supply for Singapore, PUB is continuously investing in innovative technology
and R & D. Mark Sinn and Sally Toh highlight three projects.
New technologies boost
Singapore’s water resources
With the opening of the SingSpring Desalination Plant by
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong last September, all of
Singapore s Four National Taps are now flowing. The four taps
are water from local catchments, imported water, NEWater
and desalinated water.
LINING
VEHICLE
LINING
UNIT
BOILER TRUCK
EXISTING
MANHOLE
But beyond the Four National Taps, PUB is continuously
working on finding new ways to produce and treat water costefficiently
and to find new sources of water.
Two new research and development projects currently being
carried out are the Variable Salinity Plant and the Membrane
Distillation Plant.
Variable Salinity Plant
SEWER
PIPELINE
PIPE LINING MATERIAL
(Inversion technique
using water pressure )
Curing of liner in progress
Trenchless technology gives
old sewers a new lease of life
LINER
This new technology is able to treat water of different salinity.˚
Depending on the salinity of the water to be treated, the plant
is able to decide automatically whether to treat the water using
desalination or the NEWater treatment process.
If successful, Variable Salinity Plants can be located at rivers
and canals, to treat water from them throughout the year,
whether in wet or dry seasons. To test the technology on
a larger scale, a $7 million demonstration plant is being built
at Sungei Tampines. It will be able to produce a million gallons
of water a day and is expected to be ready at the end of
the year.
Membrane Distillation
Membrane distillation uses residual heat from power stations
and incineration plants to boil seawater. The vapour produced
then passes through microfiltration-type membranes and
condenses on a cooler surface, producing near-distilled water.
Membrane distillation is more cost effective than conventional
distillation, as it uses only one-third the energy to produce the
same amount of water. What s more, a membrane distillation
plant is just one-fifth the size of a conventional distillation
plant.
Singapore s used water network stretches over 3,400 km.
This network is separate from the rainwater collection network
comprising of drains, rivers, canals and reservoirs.
Ensuring that the sewer pipe lines are leak-proof is important
so that used water does not contaminate the rainwater which
flows to the reservoirs.
As part of a 10-year programme to upgrade 790 km of old
sewers, PUB adopted the Cured-In-Place Pipe (CIPP) lining
method to make old sewer pipes become as good as new. This
is done through installing a polyester liner into the existing pipe
to form a new inner pipe.
Thanks to this trenchless technology, there is no need to dig up
roads and pavements, reducing disruptions to traffic flow and
inconvenience to nearby residents.
On average, the CIPP method takes about 3 days to repair a
100-metre stretch of sewer pipes, as compared to conventional
trench-digging methods, which could last 3 weeks or more.
This method is also more cost effective, saving us up to 40%
of replacement costs, said Tan Yok Gin, director of PUB s
Water Reclamation Network.
The technology is now undergoing a one-year trial at a pilot
plant within the Senoko Incineration Plant. The $2.4 million
plant is a joint project by PUB, NEA and Keppel Seghers. It
produces about 20 to 40 cubic metres of distilled water a day
from about 40 cubic metres of seawater.
6

We hope that by getting people
who live around the place to
adopt it they will have a sense
of ownership.
- Minister Mentor
Lee Kuan Yew
MM Lee encourages
ownership of water by
Tan Kheng Im
Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew called on everyone to keep
Singapore s waters clean, at a grassroots event where the
Tanjong Pagar Town Council adopted Alexandra Canal on
26 February 2006.
Water from Alexandra Canal flows to the Singapore River,
which is part of the water catchment of the future Marina
Reservoir. The Tanjong Pagar residents will clean and patrol
the canal under PUB s community programme Our Waters.
In encouraging everyone to value our water resources,
MM Lee told residents that to play their part and not dirty
the waterways. We hope that by getting people who live
around the place to adopt it they will have a sense of
ownership. Their children will play there, they can go
fishing there. So please make an effort to keep this place
beautiful and clean, he said.
The canal will be barraged in places so that the water level
is always up. It will thus be suitable for fishing and other
water-based activities, and some stretches will be broadened
and turned into parks, added MM Lee.
When the Marina Barrage is completed by end 2007, the
Alexandra Canal will have a constant water level, making
many water activities such as kayaking possible.
¥ PUB has just launched the Active, Beautiful, Clean Waters programme which will beautify and transform
our waterways into exciting new community spaces. Read more about it on page 12
7

World Water Dayby Joy Tan
World Water Day is observed every year on 22 March around the
world. Even as Singapore enjoys good quality drinking water from
the tap, there is much everyone can do to ensure we never run
out of good clean water, a problem faced in many countries today.
On that day, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources,
Yaacob Ibrahim and 500 students of Dunman High School,
together pledged to take the 10-litre Challenge.
Dr Yaacob also gave away prizes to the winners of PUB s Water
for All design competition where primary school students designed
a poster and secondary school students a T-shirt based on the
theme Water for All: Conserve, Value, Enjoy.
Halfway around the globe, government officials and executives
of water organisations met at the 4th World Water Forum in
Mexico to exchange ideas about how to have a sustainable supply
of water. PUB s Chief Executive Khoo Teng Chye also shared
with the delegates Singapore s unique water story.
World Water Day celebrations in Singapore
Besides pledging to take up the 10-litre Challenge together with
the 500 Dunman High students, Dr Yaacob welcomed Dunman
High as PUB s first Friend of Water (see other story on page 14).
The 10-litre Challenge website was launched at the World Water
Day event held at Dunman High school. The 10-litre challenge
was introduced to help Singapore meet a new target for water
consumption: 155 litres per person per day by 2012.
Working with the Singapore Environment Council, the 10-litre
Challenge website (www.sec.org.sg/10litrechallenge) shows visitors
how they can help Singapore meet this new water consumption
target. Visitors to the website can assess their water usage, compare
it against the national average and set their own targets to use less
water. The website also shares simple water-saving habits to help
efforts to reduce water consumption.
To encourage students to express how we should cherish our water
resources, PUB had organised the Water for All Competition.
Over 3,000 entries were received from about 100 schools. There
were 13 winners each in the primary and secondary schools
category. The top three from the primary school category were:˚
Tan Chiaw Sian of Kheng Cheng School (1st Prize), Gabrielle
Rae Sammy˚ of St. Margaret’s Primary School (2nd Prize)
and Dharshna d/o Selvaraj of St. Anthony’s Primary School
(3rd Prize).
8

In the secondary school category, the
winners who did their schools proud
were:
Chen Jia Ying of Ghim Moh Secondary
School (1st Prize), Melvin Ong Yong
Jun of Manjusri Secondary School (2nd
Prize) and Richie Caesar Bumi of
St. Patrick’s School (3rd Prize).
World Water Forum
The World Water Forum is an initiative of the World Water Council which aims to
raise awareness of water issues around the world. More than 13,000 representatives
from over 120 countries converged in Mexico for the 4th World Water Forum from
16 to 22 March 2006.
PUB s Chief Executive Khoo Teng Chye gave a presentation on Singapores sustainable
water management and a Singapore pavilion was on display as part of the World Water
Expo, the exhibition held in conjunction with the forum.
The pavilion showcased Singapore’s water management strategies and major initiatives.
˚Many delegates were keen to sample NEWater and more than 2000 bottles were
snapped up within 6 days. Water Wally was also a hit, with 800 Water Wally lanyards
given away at the expo.
Water Wally goes to schools
To promote the Water for All competition, PUB s mascot Water
Wally visited more than 20,000 students at about 50 primary and
secondary schools in February 2006.
Besides telling them more about the competition, Water Wally s
main purpose was to get students interested to do their part
to take care of Singapore s water resources. Excerpts from
the TV documentary Reservoir in the City was screened at
the schools.
At the primary schools, the show host Naidu showed students
why they should not waste water. To gasps from the audience, he
poured water into a folded newspaper and made it disappear. But
if you do your part to conserve water with simple acts such as
taking shorter showers, you will have water to drink, he said,
making the water re-appear.
At the secondary schools, host Darryl David took a gulp of water
from a pitcher and then asked students to drop something inside.
When the pitcher was returned to him, the water was full of
rubbish. You see, this is what will happen if we litter in the drains.
What was good quality water will become dirty and I wont want
to drink from this, he said.
˚
The highlight of the show for the students was of course when
Water Wally appeared. Students who answered questions about
water correctly received Water Wally premiums such as cushions,
water bottles and notebooks.
9

Sharing expertise: Mr Lim Chiow Giap, PUB’s
Director of Water Supply Network˚(Plants) shares
about Singapore’s˚Marina Barrage to over 250
delegates at the 4th Asiawater 2006 Expo Forum
in Malaysia on World Water Day.˚˚
Opening up: The opening
of Jurong Lake for water
activities is cause for cheer
among residents in the area.
Immersing themselves in
the fun were MPs from
Jurong, who were at the
opening of the lake.
At a glance
It was a memorable quarter for PUB, with World Water Day Celebrations being
the order of the day. PUB also issued the 10-litre Challenge to encourage Singaporeans
to be serious about conserving our precious water resources. The opening of Jurong
Lake and the launch of the ABC Waters Programme at Kolam Ayer brought the
enjoyment of our waters to new heights.
10

All hands on deck: Dr Yaacob Ibrahim and MPs
from Jalan Besar GRC enjoying some fun in the
water at the launch of PUB’s Active Beautiful Clean
Waters programme.
Cheers to NEWater: Delegates to the World Water
Forum in Mexico˚take a taste of Singapore, and NEWater
at the PUB booth.
˚
Showing the way: Assoc Prof Ho Peng Kee shows a
resident simple tips to save water at the introduction
of the 10-litre Challenge in Nee Soon East.
11

A PUB that will
never run dry
PUB Chief Executive Khoo Teng Chye spoke to Straits Times senior writer
Ong Soh Chin on World Water Day and shared his thoughts on Singapores
water story. We reproduce the story in full below.
Today is World Water Day. PUB’s chief
executive, Mr Khoo Teng Chye, talks about
how it is ensuring that Singapore will always
have enough water, not only for itself, but
possibly for the region.
MR KHOO Teng Chye is an engineer by
training. He is also the chief executive of the
Public Utilities Board (PUB), a very left-brain,
engineer-based organisation.
But his creative right brain is also getting a
workout in his new position, which he took on
in December 2003.
The right brain is better than the left brain
when it comes to conveying ideas,’ he says,
laughing. And for that, he can thank his family.
’I come from a family of right-brain people.
I’m the only engineer. My wife is an English
teacher and my two daughters are in the arts,’
he says. One studied political science and is
currently pursuing a post-graduate degree in art
history. The other is studying anthropology.
All this serves him well as the revamped PUB’s
main man. Where previously the PUB took care
of electricity, gas and water supplies, since 2001
the first two departments have been hived off to
Singapore Power. The PUB now takes care of
water alone, but with new responsibilities for
sewerage and drainage matters, previously under
the Environment Ministry.
This means that the PUB is now Singapore’s
sole water authority, tasked with making water
management - an area of supreme importance
in resource-scarce Singapore - a more integrated
and efficient exercise.
Says Mr Khoo, 53: ’We are now managing the
entire water loop - from harnessing the rain that
falls, to channelling it and purifying it.’
He had previously served as chief executive
officer of the Urban Redevelopment Authority,
where he was largely credited for making
Singapore’s urban planning more open and
transparent.
He was also group president of PSA Corp and
oversaw the former statutory board’s
transformation into a business-oriented group
with a global outlook.
His previous experiences are serving him well
in his new job, he says.
The URA is a very creative organisation, filled
with architects and planners. They dream, they
have vision. PSA is very business-oriented. We
had to deal with international customers all the
time and, as a result, it bred a very strong
customer-focused mentality. It taught me
financial discipline as well.’’
The PUB is very much an ’engineering culture.
So what I am trying to do is to have a bit of
URA and PSA in PUB’, he says with a smile.
He’s the first to admit that there is still some
way to go in publicising the PUB’s mission: to
make sure there is enough good-quality water
available at the lowest possible cost.
’PUB has been doing this for the last 30 or 40
years. But we have not been so good perhaps at
branding ourselves and articulating clearly what
we are doing,’ he admits.
He wants to change all that by mobilising his
right brain and coming up with ideas and schemes
which will get Singaporeans to use water
responsibly.
But the left brain also needs to be active, to
tackle the challenges of science and commerce.
The PUB has created a commercial arm called
Singapore Utilities International Pte Ltd (SUI),
which provides water technology services. In
2004, SUI took on seven international projects,
most notably in the burgeoning economies of
China and India.
Currently, SUI has only about 50 employees,
a small number compared with the 3,000
working in the PUB proper. ’But we are probably
going to grow it,’ says Mr Khoo. ’With our
higher international profile, SUI is finding itself
very busy. So we have to put in more resources
and position ourselves more globally in future.’
The effort is part of a government drive to
make Singapore a hub for water technology.
Already, there are some 30 companies involved
in producing Newater in Singapore, from design
companies to system integrators and equipment
suppliers. ’All the big water companies are here.
It’s already a vibrant industry,’ says Mr Khoo.
The human touch
UNLESS you are an engineer, all this business
of water management can sound hopelessly
technical and opaque.
Says Mr Khoo: ’The problem is trying to make
a very complex matter very simple so that people
- not only the public, but your own staff - can
understand.’
In Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, Minister for the
Environment and Water Resources, he has found
a like-minded ally in the push to engage and
educate people in conserving, valuing and
enjoying Singapore’s water resources, as mapped
out in the PUB’s corporate tagline.
Singapore has 32 rivers and 14 reservoirs.
When the Marina and Punggol-Serangoon
reservoirs are ready by around 2009, there will
be 16 reservoirs in total. By that time, two-thirds
of Singapore will be a water catchment area,
compared to half currently.
’Almost everybody lives in a water catchment
area, so people need to understand their
responsibility in keeping the waters clean,’ says
Mr Khoo. And part of that understanding comes
from interacting with the water.
With that in mind, in 2004, reservoirs were
opened up so that people could use them for
water activities. While some people initially had
reservations about allowing water catchment
areas to be sullied by human activity, Mr Khoo
thought otherwise.
He says: ’Before the Berlin Wall came down,
I visited West Berlin and saw a reservoir there
which hosted a lot of activities. So I thought, if
12

the Germans, who are so environmentally
conscious and who have such high public health
standards, are prepared to let their reservoirs
be used for all kinds of boating activities, it
shouldn’t be a problem for us.’
The crown jewel in this interactive exercise
between man and water will be the upcoming
$226 million Marina Barrage project.
It was conceived almost 20 years ago by
Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, who envisioned
the idea of damming up the Marina Channel
and turning Marina Basin into a reservoir.
But apart from its functionality, it will also
serve as a recreational and tourist attraction
where people can visit a gleaming Visitor
Centre, enjoy water sports and concerts and
even walk along the Barrage.
’I insisted that there must be a place there
where people can actually dangle their feet in
the water, so that they can feel the closeness to
the water,’ says Mr Khoo.
Another way he hopes to foster this closeness
is by dressing up Singapore’s canals. In the
past, engineers turned rivers into canals so that
water flow could be better managed and floods
prevented.
Says Mr Khoo: ’They are very important
functionally. But there’s no reason why we
can’t design engineering-looking concrete
longkangs to be beautiful rivers with flowing
water and lush landscapes, and integrate them
with the community.’
The PUB’s ABC (Active, Beautiful and
Clean) Waters Programme furthers this
objective. ’Imagine Kallang River or Whampoa
River looking like a natural river you can walk
along or kayak on. Imagine part of the river
flowing into the lotus pond in your condo,
with waterfalls and fountains. That is not
something that is far-fetched.’
Getting people involved is also something
Mr Khoo actively promotes within the PUB.
In 2004, he introduced a performance-based
salary structure as well as something called the
$10K-Ideas Challenge.
The latter promises $100 to any employee
who submits an idea which saves PUB $10,000.
Within a year, 204 ideas were generated, with
projected savings of about $14.5 million - well
worth the $20,000 PUB will give out to the
employees who suggested the ideas.
The scheme encourages those in middle
management who are very often the source of
many good ideas. I picked $10K so that the
scheme would be within their authority limits.
They don’t have to refer to a higher authority
for approval as they would have to if it were a
$1 million challenge. This way, I can say, go
ahead, come up with as many ideas as you can.’
Future plans
HISTORY is littered with accounts of wars
fought over water, which is becoming more
and more scarce as the world’s population
grows. The United Nations predicts that by
2025, the world will have 30 water-scarce
countries.
Seen in this sobering global context, the
PUB’s role in ensuring Singapore’s survival is
even more important.
Providing water is not enough. There is also
a need to secure it and ensure its potability.
The PUB is ’paranoid’ about making sure that
tests are conducted throughout the entire water
delivery system, says Mr Khoo.
’Every month we conduct 80,000 tests on
our water. We have labs that can test for minute
amounts of chemicals or pathogens.
’We work very hard to make sure that our
drinking water standards exceed those of the
World Health Organisation and the United
States Environmental Protection Agency.’
In addition, there are stringent internal as
well as external audits on the water system.
Says Mr Khoo: ’The world is very interested
in what we’re doing. One-third of the people
in Asia now live in cities. The Asian
Development Bank forecast that by 2020, half
of Asia will be living in cities. There will be
problems of how to supply water to urban
populations. That will be something that will
be of great relevance to us.’
You could say that Mr Khoo is in a
burgeoning industry that is seriously fun. It’s
about survival, but it’s also about dangling your
feet in the water.
’We are a mature organisation,’ he says of
the PUB. ’But in terms of philosophy, culture
and DNA, we are still a very young organisation
which is always looking ahead.
’That is what I hope will continue to give
the organisation its vibrancy and ability to serve
Singapore,’ he says.
’And maybe the world,’ he adds quietly, as
an afterthought.
13

Recognising friends of water
by Joy Tan
Getting people to develop a closer bond with Singapore s water resources has
been a big part of PUB s initiatives in the past year. And this is being taken to Who are friends of water
new heights with the launch of the Friends of Water awards programme.
The awards recognise those who contribute to awareness about water and what
it takes to sustain Singapore s water supply.
We hope to develop many guardians of water and heighten public awareness
about what kinds of acts are good or detrimental to our waters, explained
Yap Kheng Guan, PUB s Director of 3P Network. For example, the award could
be given to schools that organise activities to promote greater understanding of
water, or organisations that conduct clean-ups and take care of our water resources.
Individuals will not be left out either — there are many ways they could contribute.
The first Friend of Water was named at the recent World Water Day celebrations.
Receiving the honour was Dunman High School. It has adopted Geylang River,
and its students volunteer as guides at the NEWater Visitor Centre. Dunman
Highs teachers are advocates of water too — they have put up water-saving posters
around the school and recently participated in the Water Wally show and the
Water for All Competition.
PUB hopes to have many friends of water by the next World Water Day where
a higher award, the Watermark Awards will be presented. These will be awarded
to recognize outstanding organizations and individuals for going the extra mile
in doing their part for Singapore s water resources.
Individuals who care about the quality of our waters
and are constantly on guard against wastage. Examples
of good water efforts include reporting leaks in public
places such as public toilets, reporting acts that will affect
water quality such as illegal dumping and pollution,
and volunteering time in public education about water.
Groups who have adopted good water practices and
helped to raise awareness on the importance of water to
students, staff, customers and members of the public.
Schools, corporations, grassroots organisations and NGOs
are eligible.
Friends of Water — Watermark Award
This special award recognises organisations and
individuals for making a mark in Singapore s water.
These are people and groups who have put in
extraordinary efforts towards the water cause.˚
For more information on the awards, please visit
http://www.pub.gov.sg/FOW/index.html
14
Continued from page 13
Water
supplied by
technology,
not nature
WATER sourcing is no longer a simple matter of
waiting for rain to fall into reservoirs or buying
water from other countries.
While these are the two traditional ’taps’ in
Singapore’s Four National Taps Programme, it is
thanks to research and development, not nature,
that the two newest and most important taps -
Newater and desalination - have been created.
Together, they have turned what used to be
Singapore’s vulnerability - a dependency on
unreliable entities for a vital and scarce resource
- into a strength, as well as a viable economic
growth sector.
On March 6, the PUB won the prestigious Water
Agency of the Year 2006 award in Dubai.
Local company Hyflux won the award for Water
Company Of The Year while the SingSpring
Desalination Plant at Tuas was runner-up in its
category.
Hyflux, of course, is the water treatment
company commissioned to work on the Bedok
and Seletar processing plants for the PUBdeveloped
Newater.
By the end of this year, the fourth Newater plant
at Ulu Pandan will be up and running, together
with the existing ones in Bedok and Seletar, as
well as Kranji.
By 2011, PUB aims to supply 248 million litres
of Newater a day, or more than 15 per cent of
Singapore’s total water needs.
Apart from used water, Singapore is also
harnessing sea water.
SingSpring, one of the largest desalination plants
in the world, cost $200 million and is operated
by Hyflux, in partnership with PUB.
It will supply PUB with 136 million litres of
water a day over a period of 20 years.
Not only can Singapore now ’create’ its own
water from previously untenable sources, it can
also do so cheaply.
Says Mr Khoo: ’Before 2001, desalination
basically involved boiling water, or thermal
distillation. That requires a lot of energy and is
very expensive.
’But because of the revolution in membranes
and reverse osmosis technology, in the last five
years, costs have come down considerably,’ he
added.
’We used to think desalination costs $4 per cubic
metre treated. But when we awarded the contract
to Hyflux, the first-year cost was only 78 cents
per cubic metre, one of the lowest in the world.’
In subsequent years, the figure could go up or
down, depending on a complex formula which
factors in things like fuel prices.
’When you go to international water forums,
they talk about that as the benchmark,’ he adds
proudly.
Newater - at about 30 cents per cubic metre
treated - is even cheaper than desalination.
The two together are expected to supply a quarter
of Singapore’s water needs by 2011.
Theoretically, the sky’s the limit, says Mr Khoo
as recycling ensures an ’almost infinite supply’ of
water going around the same water chain.
Technology is also being used to manage another
of Singapore’s scarce resources - land.
’We have a lot of rain. Our problem is we don’t
have enough land to harness it,’ says Mr Khoo.
Not only is there a need to maximise water
catchment, treatment plants also need to take up
as little space as possible.
Hence the new Deep Tunnel Sewerage System
(DTSS) in Changi, which is due to be completed
in 2008.
Previously, sewerage pipes channelled used water
to reclamation plants.
The pipes took up a lot of valuable land, and
also were subject to the whims of pumping mains
which could overflow or rupture and pollute water
catchments.
In 1987, two sewage pumping mains burst and
spilled their pollutants into the Kallang River.
The DTSS, which will cost $3.65 billion, will
rely totally on gravity to convey used water. It will
take up only one-third of the total land area of
existing plants.
Furthermore, future Newater plants at Changi
can just be built on top of the DTSS, ensuring
even more land savings.

Volunteering
for a good cause
To encourage more water-loving people to have a hand in conserving and
taking care of Singapore s water resources, PUB recently introduced two
volunteer groups.
MacRitchie Volunteers
MacRitchie Reservoir Park - Singapore’s oldest and most beloved reservoir
has a special place in the hearts of many Singaporeans. It is home to a
myriad of activities including cross-country events, community events,
family gatherings and excursions.
To enable more Singaporeans to appreciate the reservoir and park, the
MacRitchie Volunteer group is calling for all who are passionate about
helping to take care of this Singapore icon.
You’ll learn all about the reservoir’s rich history and share this knowledge
with visitors.˚You ll also be helping to keep MacRitchie Reservoir Park a
safe, clean place for everyone to enjoy. In the process, you ll be creating
awareness and appreciation of the value of our water resources.
For more information and signing up to be a MacRitchie Volunteer, please
visit http://www.pub.gov.sg/MacRitchieVolunteer/Introduction.html.
Water volunteer group
One of the new initiatives under the 10-litre Challenge, it aims to educate
home owners how they can use water wisely and help them to install watersaving
devices.
Working closely with grassroots organisations such as the People’s Association
and the Community Development Councils (CDCs), PUB staff and
volunteers visit households in various housing estates, to share with them
ways to cut water consumption and save on their utility bills.
To join a Water Volunteer Group, please contact Miss Aw Lay Kheng at
aw_lay_kheng@pub.gov.sg
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