Singapore’s Water Story
Singapore is very unique country and hence many of its environmental concerns and challenges are unique to the region and country as well. Like the majority of the countries in today’s rapidly changing and globalised world, Singapore is faced with a myriad of environmental problems. One of the most urgent pressing issue is the shortage of water and Singapore’s efforts in attaining a water-secure future.
Singapore is very small island that is affectionately called “Little Red Dot” and is unfortunately plagued by water scarcity as we do not have aquifers or groundwater. Our 4 national taps that we reply on for a sustainable and reliable water supply:
1)Local Catchment Area - Though receiving a large amount of rain, it is unwise to overly rely on this tap as we cannot afford to use large areas of land to collect and store rainwater.
2)NEWater - Reclaimed water which uses revolutionising technology to treat high grade used water into clean water on large scale for drinking and industrial purposes. Though it provides up to 30% of the country’s needs, it faces stigma and has low consumption by the residents.
3)Imported Water - Historically, Singapore had to rely on imported water from Malaysia due to its lack of natural water resources, limited land space and water storage facilities. Having to rely heavily on a single water supplier subjected Singapore to potential hikes in water prices.
4)Desalinated water - This treated seawater meets 10% of the country’s current water needs however this is a very energy consuming and expensive process.
To overcome these limitations, we work towards being as efficient and innovative as possible in tackling these demands. However, recent research has shown that the demand for water is expected to double in the next 50 years. Some of the key factors that are contributing to the growth of this problem are:
1)Increasing demand - As Singapore’s populations continues to grow and its economy and businesses continue to prosper and boom, the demand for water will continue increasing.
2)Climate Change - Uncertain weather patterns caused by climate change make forecasts difficult and unreliable
3)Wasteful Habits - Singaporeans have a tendency to waste this precious resource as we have easy access to it from the taps which makes it easy to waste water on a daily basis without noticing.
4)Unrepaired Leaks - Though often overlooked this factor can lay an important role as water wastage from pipes and appliances go unnoticed. For example, a small leak from an average household kitchen can amount to 10,000 litres per year.
Although the four taps have helped reduce water scarcity in Singapore, it is still vulnerable as the country due to its heavy reliance on imported water to meet almost 60% of is needs. This channel is very unreliable and is dependent on many factors such as politics and current events. The reliance on NEWater and desalinated water, in turn, creates another problem as these are energy intensive processes. While these two sources alone are expected to make up 80% of Singapore’s water needs in 2060 through government initiatives, both are highly energy-intensive. Unfortunately, Singapore a natural resource-poor country, is short on energyas well.
Hence, Singapore is actively preparing to avoid a situationwhere it has to choose between water and energy. Currently, the Public Utilities Board (PUB) is trying to reduce reliance on fossil fuel by producing energy through biogas at water reclamation plants instead. There is also an increase in solar energy production and investment in R&D to lower the energy consumption of desalination plants.
However, it is an undeniable fact that Singapore is a small country without natural resources. As water becomes an increasing important issue in politics, relations between Singapore and its neighbour Malaysia could become strained on the issue of water collection. Hence, it is critical to conserve water and reducing consumption is the first step in ensuring sufficiency and security. As water is a strategic resource, having a safe, secure and sustainable water supply is a key policy challenge for many countries around the world. Singapore’s significant investments in water R&D has enabled it to develop an innovation-driven water industry and best practices in water management to the world. This contributes to the socio-economic prosperity of the country and the region as a whole.
In conclusion, while Singapore’s example as a water-scare city state might be unique and challenging, its achievements in terms of innovative water policies offer lessons to other countries. At the same time, I believe Singapore needs more regional South-East Asian (SEA) collaboration for the transfer of knowledge and innovative practices. I believe there is a lot of potential for improvement in Singaporeans attitudes towards water conservation that they can learn from their SEA counterparts. Some of the challenges that Singapore faces going forward would be climate change, increasing energy costs, growing demand for water, and urbanisation. Unfortunately I have observed that there is a growing complacency in the Singaporean population about the importance of a safe and sustainable water supply for the future which is a big challenge.
References
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3)A. (2016, September 14). Singapore's Water Shortage – Our Water Story. Retrieved August 24, 2017, from
4)Tackling Singapore’s Water Shortage. Retrieved August 24, 2017, from