The politics of water – being self-sufficient

Posted by Simply Jean under National History, Reflections
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Nowadays, when we talk about water in Singapore, most Singaporeans will inevitably think about water from Malaysia and the ubiquitous NEWater. Indeed, since the latter’s launch in 2003, there have been different reactions when people realised that NEWater could eventually be used as potable water in our homes.

Bottles of NEWater - attractively packaged and all ready for consumption. (MICA collection, Courtesy of National Archives of Singapore)

NEWater was born out of a study on water reclamation in Singapore. In a nutshell, that meant looking into ways on how water can be reused again and again. This meant taking wastewater from our homes and then recycling them. At a point in time, comments such as “drinking our own pee” was commonly heard and talked about in coffee shops!

A reaction of disgust is only natural, but recycling sewage is really not that bad because all of the harmful bacteria and particles are removed through various stages in the water purification process in each of the NEWater treatment plants; namely, microfiltration, which removes very tiny particles; reverse osmosis, which removes chemicals from the water such as heavy metals, pesticides and even viruses; and ultra-violet disinfection, which ensures the removal of any bacteria or viruses should there be any breakage in the membranes that are used in reverse osmosis.

What we get at the end of the process is very clean water where about 95 per cent of all dissolved solids are removed. However, it is this cleanliness that resulted in NEWater tasting a little different from the usual tap or bottled water that we are so used to.

Unfortunately, its taste wasn’t the only barrier to getting people to adopt NEWater into their daily lives. What perhaps needed more attention was how to encourage people to cross the psychological barrier and drink processed reclaimed water. While it seemed like a small issue, the many felt drinking processed sewage water was severely unappetising.

MacRitchie Reservoir: One of the 19 reservoirs serving Singapore and also the first to be built in 1867, which was then known as Thomson Road Reservoir. (MICA collection, Courtesy of National Archives of Singapore)

Many don’t realize that NEWater is gradually being added back to our reservoirs where it mixes with water from the catchment areas and undergo a second round of water cleansing. Much to the relief of many Singaporeans, this makes NEWater acceptable for domestic use while retaining the same taste of well-loved tap water that many are familiar with.

Importing water from neighbouring countries, with all its political attachments, is not seen as a viable long-tern solution.

Thankfully, Singapore harnesses the Four-Tap Strategy that aims to reduce reliance on foreign water supply and to diversify water sources to Singapore. These four taps which includes water supply from water catchment areas, imported water, recycled water and desalinated water, aim to make Singapore self-reliant and self-sufficient in this aspect.

Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong drinking and endorsing NEWater after a game of tennis at the Istana. (Courtesy of the National Archives of Singapore, MICA collection)

Then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong endorsing NEWater after a game of tennis at the Istana. (MICA collection, Courtesy of National Archives of Singapore)

Of the four taps, recycling and desalination of water doesn’t come cheap. In reality, water recycling began in 1974 in Singapore but the experimental plant was closed a year later because the cost of operating was too high. In addition, technology was not reliable enough to ensure that the water was sufficiently processed. Today, however, technologies in reverse osmosis are cheap and reliable enough for water not only for use in the industries, but also for drinking - which was also endorsed by then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong.

By 2001, there were 19 raw resevoirs, nine treatment works and 14 storage service resevoir to serve Singapore’s need for water. When the fifth NEWater plant opens in Changi in 2010, NEWater is able to meet 30% of Singapore’s needs. The opening of the first desalination plant in Singapore in 2005, which is one of the biggest in the world and meets 10% of Singapore’s water requirements - the rest of which comes from imported water (40%) as well as water from the catchment areas. In 2009, the Marina Barrage, a dam constructed around the estuary of three Singapore rivers to create a huge freshwater resevoir and increase rainfall catchment to two-thirds of our country’s surface area. This is a far cry from the times when Singapore depended entirely on imported water, which can sometimes place Singapore in a precarious position when politics and water supply are looked at at the same time.

The first NEWater Plant that opened in Bedok in 2003. (MICA collection, Courtesy of National Archives of Singapore)

Indeed, Singapore has come a long way to becoming less reliant on foreign supplies of water. Harnessing the latest technology in developing drinkable recyclable water, Singapore has also exported its water expertise not just to the Middle East but has also attracted interest from various First World nations as well - turning this into a multi-million dollar venture that has placed Singapore on the world map for water recycling.

No doubt Singapore may be a small nation, but with increasing foresight and gradual acceptance of NEWater, we will eventually achieve self-sufficiency in water.

EDITOR’S NOTE::: This is the twelvth in a series of blog posts to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Singapore’s journey to nationhood.

To read the other offerings in this special series, see: