Environment Lens

Written by: Kai Xiang

Water is an environmental topic that can be applied wherever water is found. The following page is structured to give a view of water from multiple angles.

There are many places we can use to apply

History of Water in Singapore

Water and History

Singapore was chosen by the British because of its access to fresh water. Right next to the Singapore River, there was a source of water at Bukit Larangan (Fort Canning Hill) where the British constructed a reservoir (more like a water tank).
We experienced our first water scarcity when the reservoir can no longer meet demands in 1830s. More wells were dug around the hill.
A new reservoir was planned but did not materialise due to bureaucracy, despite the donation of a Chinese merchant, Tan Kim Seng, Finally, the Impounding Reservoir was built in 1877. It is now known as MacRitchie Reservoir.
The reservoir wasn't enough despite being expanded over time, due to increasing demand and prolonged periods of dry weather. Water supply was restricted to as little as 2 hours per day.
With our population continually growing, a new reservoir was created in 1902 known as the Kallang Reservoir, present day- Lower Pierce Reservoir. Plans were made for a third reservoir (Seletar Reservoir) while considering an option of importing water from Johor in 1904.
In 1953, daily consumption was 52 million gallons per day. This was met with diversifying the sources of water in Johor that Singapore was collecting water from. Singapore was heavily dependent on Johor's supply when a water crisis happened when the British blew up the Causeway along with the water pipe in 1942.
In 1963, as a result of prolonged period of dry weather, Singapore experienced its worst drought and a water rationing exercise lasted for 10 months. During the ration, the water supply was available only 3x a week from 8am to 8pm.
Upon independence, the government realized that water is an existential threat and as a water-stressed country, establishing water security was the most important priority of the government.
More history here.

Daily water usage

Trigger Question: How much litres of water do you think you use in a day?

This can be a number guessing game. This can be a opening question to a place-based learning , next to a water body. You can play this as part of a lining up game.

Ans: An average Singaporean uses 148l of water every day.

Trigger Question 2: What are the areas you use water in on a daily basis? Which do you think consumes the most amount of water?

Ans: Shower + Flush + Laundry + Kitchen = 77% (see below)

Trigger Question 3: From our expedition, how much water do you think you really need in a day? And if you have a limited amount (either because you need to carry it or you have limited ways to prepare it) what would you use it for?

Ans: Depends on your facilitation, can be anywhere from 4l onwards.

Costs of Water

Trigger Question: How much do water costs?

Singapore is one of the few countries that price for water, which is considered a basic necessity. Water pricing is an important and effective mechanism to reflect the scarcity value of water. Water is priced not only to recover the full costs of its supply and production, but also to incorporate the higher cost of producing water from unconventional sources, specifically NEWater and desalinated water.

There are three components to the water price in the monthly bill: water tariff, water conservation tax and waterborne fee. Water is charged per cubic metre, which is equivalent to 1,000 litres. The bill is subjected to GST.

Water Tariff (from $1.21)

The Water Tariff covers the costs incurred in various stages of water production process — collection of rainwater, treatment of raw water and distribution of treated potable water to customers through an extensive island-wide network of water pipelines. The Water Tariff is charged based on the volume of water consumed.

Water Conservation Tax (from 50% of Water Tariff)

The Water Conservation Tax (WCT) was introduced in 1991 to encourage water conservation and to reflect its scarcity value. WCT is imposed as a percentage of the water tariff to reinforce the message that water is precious from the very first drop.

Waterborne Fee (from $0.92)

Every drop of used water is collected via a separate network of sewers and channelled to the water reclamation plants for treatment, after which it is further purified into NEWater or discharged into the sea.

The Waterborne Fee (WBF) goes towards meeting the cost of treating used water and maintaining the used water network. It is charged based on the volume of water usage.

More information can be found here.

Thoughts on Water Pricing

Why don't we subsidise water costs, instead of pricing for the water and the network?

Why was the decision to reflect the higher costs of desalination even if most of our water comes from the cheaper source of Johor?

How does pricing for water shaped the mindset of water sustainability in Singapore?

4 National Taps

Trigger Question: Where does the water we drink and use come from? Do we use the water that we see in front of us?

As Singapore is a water-stressed country, diversifying our sources of water supply helps the provision of water to be consistent despite changes in rainfall. Our tap water is well within the World Health Organisation (WHO) drinking water guidelines and is suitable for drinking without any further filtration/ boiling.

Our 4 National Taps are 1) Imported Water, 2) Water from Local Catchment, 3) Desalinated Water, and 4) NEWater.

Catchment Water

Water from local catchment is a pillar of our sustainable water supply. Since 2011, the water catchment area has increased from half to two-thirds of Singapore’s land surface with the completion of the Marina, Punggol and Serangoon Reservoir.

PUB continues to explore ways to maximise our rainwater collection yield and strives to collect every drop of water that falls on Singapore.

With an area of about 710 km2 and growing urban areas, Singapore lacks the space to collect and store all the rain that falls on it. Through a network of rivers, canals and drains, rain that falls on two-thirds of Singapore's land area is channelled to our 17 reservoirs. Rainwater is collected through a comprehensive network of drains, canals and rivers and channelled to the reservoirs before it is treated for drinking water.

Our catchment areas are divided into Protected and Unprotected Catchments. Majority of the water collected are from unprotected catchments. To find out more, click here.

Thoughts on catchment water:

Catchment water is the cheapest source, since the water comes from rainfall and it's free from nature. Why didn't Singapore only use catchment water?
How many reservoirs do we have? What's the closest reservoir to your home? Why do we need so many reservoirs?
For catchment water to be effective, it cannot be polluted by sewage or trash. What are ways we can do to help minimise this?

Our 17 Reservoirs: (Click to enlarge) More information on the reservoirs here.

Imported Water

The 1961 Water Agreement between the Johor State Government and Singapore expired on 31 August 2011.

Under the 1962 Water Agreement, Singapore can draw up to 250 million gallons of water a day from the Johor River, and Singapore is obliged to provide Johor with treated water up to 2% of the water we import. The 1962 Water Agreement will expire in 2061. Constructed by PUB under a 1990 agreement with Johor supplementary to the 1962 Water Agreement, the Linggiu Reservoir is located upstream of the Johor River Waterworks and releases water into the Johor River to supplement its flow. This enables reliable abstraction of raw water at the Johor River Waterworks which is owned and operated by PUB for treatment.

Thoughts on imported water:

How would you feel if everyday you had to knock on your neighbour's door and ask to fill a pail of water so that you can bring it home for your family.
Why is such a reliance on others a risk to our own well being?
What can you do to overcome reliance on others?
Is it good or bad to rely on others? Why?

NEWater

NEWater is Singapore’s success story and a pillar of water sustainability. The NEWater process recycles our treated used water into ultra-clean, high-grade reclaimed water, cushioning our water supply against dry weather and moving Singapore towards water sustainability.

Presently, Singapore's five NEWater plants can meet up to 40% of the nation’s current water needs. By 2060, NEWater is expected to meet up to 55% of Singapore’s future water demand.

NEWater’s genesis dates back to the 1970s, when the Singapore government commissioned a study to determine the feasibility of producing reclaimed water. Although the study found it was technically possible, the technology’s high cost and unproven reliability then were insurmountable concerns.

By the 1990s, however, membrane technology’s cost and performance had improved considerably. Other countries such as the United States were also increasingly using it for water treatment and reclamation.

In 1998, PUB set up a team to test the latest proven membrane technology’s use in water reclamation for potable purposes. Two years later, it commissioned a full-scale demonstration plant that could produce 10,000 cubic metres daily.

In 2003, we launched NEWater to the Singaporean public, with the opening of the first two NEWater plants at Bedok and Kranji, and the NEWater Visitor Centre, a water museum to showcase our journey towards water sustainability.

More info on NEWater here.

Used Water Superhighway

The Deep Tunnel Sewerage System (DTSS), a 48 km long used water superhighway, conveys used water to water reclamation plants to be treated and purified into reclaimed water, or discharged into the sea. DTSS uses deep tunnel sewers to convey used water by gravity to centralised water reclamation plants (WRPs) located at the coastal areas. The treated used water is further purified into ultra-clean, high-grade reclaimed water called NEWater or discharged to the sea through outfalls.

DTSS is a key part of our long-term used water system which comprises a network of link sewers leading to two major tunnels (Phase 1 & 2) criss-crossing Singapore with three large WRPs at the northern (Kranji), eastern (Changi) and western (Tuas) ends of Singapore, as well as outfall pipes.

(1) Phase 1 construction of the DTSS is completed.

(2) Phase 2 which will cover the western part of Singapore is targeted for completion in 2022.

Map of DTSS

Desalinated Water

Desalination, like NEWater, is a weather-resilient water source, that helps Singapore better cope with the threat of climate change. PUB has turned seawater into drinking water using advanced membrane technology, and we continue to invest in research and technology to find more efficient ways to desalinate seawater.

Currently, we have three desalination plants with a combined capacity of 130 mgd that can meet up to 30% of Singapore’s current water demand. Two more desalination plants will be ready by 2020. Desalinated water is expected to meet up to 30% of Singapore’s future water needs by 2060.

More info here on the process of Desalination,

Read about the closest Desalination Plant to us at Marina East here.

Singapore Water Loop

Singapore has a closed water loop. By closing the loop, we attempt to collect every drop of water so that we can reuse water endlessly to maintain our supply of water.

When there is too much water- Floods

In the 1960s and 1970s, Singapore experienced wide-spread flooding during the monsoon seasons, especially in the city centre, which was built on relatively low-lying land.

Today, Singapore is relieved of prolonged floods. Flood-prone areas, which are low-lying areas with a history of flooding, have been reduced significantly from about 3,200 hectares in the 1970s to 30.5 hectares in 2016 despite increased urbanisation. Most times, our drains are able to cope with the rain that we receive. However, extremely heavy rainfall can sometimes exceed the capacity that the drains are designed for. That is when flash floods – small and localised floods that come and go relatively quickly – may occur.

PUB adopts three key strategies for stormwater management:

Providing adequate drainage ahead of new developments
Implementing flood protection measures
Continual drainage improvement

Kallang River and the Big River Clean Up

At the official opening of Upper Peirce Reservoir on 27 February 1977, then Prime Minister Lee said: “I think that [the Ministry of the Environment] should make it a target in 10 years [to] let us have fishing in the Singapore River and the Kallang River. It can be done. Because in 10 years, the whole area would have been redeveloped, all sewage water will go into the sewage and the runoff must be clean.” Lee also promised to give each officer involved in the clean-up a solid gold medal if they were successful.

A master plan for cleaning up Singapore River and Kallang Basin was drawn up by October 1977. The Singapore River and Kallang Basin catchments made up about 30 percent of Singapore’s land area. With the wide range of pollutive activities spread over such a vast area, cleaning up both catchments was a monumental task.

the clean-up plan also focused on changing people’s way of life in order to remove the sources of pollution. Squatters from two catchment areas, comprising 42,000 in the Kallang Basin and almost 4,000 in the Singapore River catchment, were resettled. The relocation exercise affected about 26,000 families, 610 pig farms, 500 duck farms, more than 2,800 backyard trades and cottage industries, close to 5,000 street hawkers, and many vegetable wholesalers.

The physical clean-up of the rivers included removing more than 80 discarded boats clogging the Singapore, Geylang, Rochor, Serangoon and Kallang Rivers. Tonnes of rubbish in the rivers and along the banks were also removed. The riverbeds were dredged to remove debris and sediment that had accumulated and made the river too toxic for aquatic life.

While the removal of squatter settlements eliminated a major source of sewage discharge into the rivers, the government also accelerated its efforts to build and enhance sewerage systems across the island. They also planned to provide refuse collection services island-wide to curb rubbish disposal in rivers and canals.22 Further steps were taken to prevent rubbish from being washed into the rivers. For instance, drains in litter-prone areas were covered with slabs, and vertical gratings were installed at some outlet drains. Float booms were also installed across rivers and canals to trap floating litter and debris.

The entire clean-up operation cost an estimated S$300 million, excluding resettlement compensation.25 The clean-up was officially declared complete on 2 September 1987.

Link to Marina Barrage

Read the full story here.

Map of Kallang Basin circa1950s, from wikipedia.

The story of the 32 door lorry

The last bucket was kicked in 1987. Before that, the sewage collection and disposal system in Singapore relied on the use of night soil buckets. In the 1900s, a network of sewers, pumping stations and treatment plants was developed and enhanced. Improvements continued to be made in the wastewater treatment system so that by 1997, all of Singapore had access to modern sanitation.1 One of the key enhancements implemented is the Deep Tunnel Sewerage System (DTSS), which was conceptualised in the mid-1990s as a more sustainable solution to collect and treat used water before discharging it into the sea or channelling it to NEWater factories for further purification.2

1800s

Before the introduction of sewers in Singapore, municipality residents depended on workers known as coolies to remove their human waste or “night soil”. The Chinese syndicates controlled these operations, where waste would be collected from houses in buckets and transported to market gardens and plantations for use as fertiliser.

In 1984, with over 90 percent of the population served by a modern sanitation system, the government commenced its phasing out programme for the night soil bucket system. That year, it closed the night soil disposal station at Toh Tuck Road. The last night soil disposal station at Lorong Halus was closed in 1987, marking the end of this obsolete system.

Read the full story here.

Read the funnier story with graphic images here.

Conserving Water

Activity: Water Sustainability Game (Adapted from ABC Waters Bedok Reservoir)

Be close to a water source (reservoir, canal, etc.) Put down 3 cards with the numbers: 5,600,000, 721.5, 148

Ask the watch to brainstorm what these numbers mean.

Answers:

What is the population of Singapore? 5.6 million

What is the land area of Singapore? 721.5km2

How much water does each person use per day? 148l per person (domestic consumption, not industrial)

Activity: Get some water.

Be close to a water source. The level of challenge of this game is set by the trainer.

Set an amount of water to be retrieved from the water source- e.g. 1000ml

Time them and see how fast they can collect the water and back to you.

With the amount of water get them to use their 5 senses to describe the water.

Are they any particles suspended in the water?
What does the water smell like?
How does the water feel like? Is it warm or cool?

Use this awareness as a primer to get participants to be pay more attention to water in their lives.

Have they seen other kinds of water?
Do they think they can drink this water?
How does the water gets from here to their taps?

This can lead to the following sharing and questions on water.

PUB Save Water Poster

Global perspective on water

United Nations Sustainable Development Goal Number 6- Ensure access to water and sanitation for all

1 in 3 people do not have access to safe drinking water
2 out of 5 do not have a basic hand-washing facility
About 10% of the global population still practice open defecation
More info here

Unsafe water

Worldwide Drinking water coverage

At least basic drinking water represents an improved source within 30 minutes’ round trip to collect water (6.5 billion people)
'limited' constitutes an improved water source more than a 30 minute round-trip away (260 million people)
'unimproved' is one that by the nature of its construction does not adequately protect the source from outside contamination (420 million people)
'surface' is that from surface water sources (160 million)
Read more here

Thoughts on Global water situation:

At independence, Singapore was one of the countries that had unimproved and limited water sources for the population that stayed outside of the city in kampungs. Some of our parents or grandparents would have experienced that. How do you think growing up in such conditions shape your mindset on water usage?
As essential as water, we did not get to where we are today by accident. Have we taken water for granted? What else have we taken for granted that we can be more aware of.

Future Challenges

Keep resilient against climate change: The government has to ensure enough water for all during extreme droughts (less catchment water), reduce our flood risks from more intense rainfall events and rising sea levels. By 2060, NEWater and desalinated water, which are independent of rainfall, will meet up to 85% of our projected water needs.
Maximising energy efficiency: As a result of more reliance on NEWater and desalinated water, our energy needs will increase. To mange the increase, engage in energy-efficient technologies, solar power and better infrastructure planning so as to reduce Singapore's carbon emissions too. Floating solar panels are installed at the Western reservoirs in military areas as a source of alternative energy.
Managing Water Demand: No amount of planning or building can curb a runaway demand. The measures will only work if the community and each individual continue to conserve water and not waste it frivolously.
Connecting with the Water: You protect what you love: the Active, Beautiful, Clean Waters (ABC Waters) programme started as a way to get people to enjoy and appreciate our blue spaces. Deliberate design goes to making it community friendly as well as environmentally sustainable (naturalising river bank). Read More here.

Thoughts on Future Challenges:

What do you think are some future challenges we might face with regards to water in Singapore?
What can we do to face the challenge, or even use the challenge to our advantage and make our living environment better?
How aware are we of our interactions with water around us? What will we be willing to do to ensure water sustainability for future generations?

Debriefing Questions related to Water

What can you learn from Singapore's Water Story? How can this knowledge be applied in your own story to achieving your goals?
- 1. Disability is our greatest opportunity: Water is our highest policy priority that affected our defence and economy. Over the years, because of its priority, we have overcome the challenge and has transformed a scarce resource to a key strength in expertise in water governance.
  2. Long term planning: Water is factor in land-use planning, separating residential from industrial estates. The entire island has separate systems for the collection of rainwater and used water. Continued investment in water technology and keeping abreast with global development allowed water recycling to happen at a cost effective stage.
  3. Frugal use of resources: Creating a mindset of not taking water for granted. The older generation had to go through severe drought and prolonged water rationing just before independence. And one of the reasons the British surrendered was due to our low water supplies. This psyche of water scarcity helped to ensure that water related policies was understood and accepted.
  4. Building capacity one step at a time: Our water story tracked our country’s economic development from survival to sustainable economic development. Economic growth and infrastructural development are mutually reinforcing. We were able to explore alternative sources such as desalination because we had the means to do so.
What is Water a metaphor for something in your life? What is an essential thing that you need to survive? Have you look at how your thirst for it is quenched? Is it sustainable and resilient to changes in the future?
What is a Huge problem that you are working on? How can water help you to reframe your approach to facing this challenge?