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Chua Soon Guan

Assistant Chief Executive (Policy)

PUB, Singapore’s National Water Agency

NEWater - Water Sustainability in Singapore

Overview of Singapore

Small Island State

Singapore 710 km2

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Annual rainfall 2400 mm

Average water

demand1.82 million m3/d (400mgd)

Population 5.4m

Singapore in our early days

“Singapore … at the 170th position among a list of 190

countries in terms of freshwater availability.”- United Nations World Water Development Report

� Poor Drainage System caused frequent flooding

� Only 2 national taps - catchment water

(dependent on weather) and imported

water from Malaysia

Difficult and Humble Beginnings

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water from Malaysia

� Not all homes are sewered (bucket system)

� Polluted Rivers

� 100% potable water at tap & 100%

access to modern sanitation

� Domestic water consumption 151 litres/

capita/day

� Unaccounted-for-water around 5%

� Integrated urban and water planning

Singapore Today

A Liveable City

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� Strong Political Will

Water Governance is Key

“ … This (water) dominated every other policy.

Every other policy had to bend at the knees for

water survival.”

- Mr Lee Kuan Yew, Prime Minister of Singapore (1965-1990),

at the inaugural Singapore International Water Week 2008

Water is Top of the Government’s Agenda

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� Whole-of-Government Effort

� Water masterplan; integrating water considerations into urban

planning

4 National Taps: Integrated Water System

IPUIPU

Our Our 44

National National

TapsTaps

Our Our 44

National National

TapsTaps

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DNPUDNPU

TapsTapsTapsTaps

Principles for Sustainable Water SupplyPrinciples of Sustainable Supply

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Collect Every Drop of Rain That Falls on Singapore

•

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• 2/3 of Singapore’s land area is water catchment

• Rainwater collected and stored in 17 reservoirs

• Tapping on more urbanised catchments

• Integration to optimise yield

Deep Tunnel Sewerage System (DTSS)

Deep Tunnel Sewerage System

Collect Every Drop of Used Water

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Tuas Water

Reclamation Plant

Ulu Pandan Water

Reclamation Plant

Jurong Water

Reclamation Plant

Changi

water reclamation plant

Recycle Every Drop of Water More Than Once

Kranji

17 mgd

Changi

50 mgdUlu Pandan Bedok

NEWater

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50 mgdUlu Pandan

32 mgd

Bedok

18 mgd

• Current NEWater capacity can meet 30% of total demand

• Ulu Pandan and Changi NEWater Plants supply NEWater to

PUB under the Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) approach

Singspring Desal

Desalinated Water

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Singspring Desal

30 mgd

Tuaspring Desal

70 mgd

Our aim now is to ensure that Singapore’s water supply continues to be

robust, sustainable and affordable even as our needs as a nation grow.

Planning Long Term

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Sustainable Water Resource Management

Four National Taps Demand Management

� Source diversification is key

� Demand management to maintain balance with supply

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Conserve Our Water

ValueOur Water

Enjoy Our Water

Water Demand Management

LOW water losses

Good customer service

Accurate metering

Robust pipe network mgmt

Strict legislation

Low Unaccounted-for-Water Water Conservation

Strategy

Pricingreflecting the value of a scarce resource

Facilitationpromoting ownership of water conservation

Mandatereducing excessive wastage of

water

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3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

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1989 1992 1995 1998 2001 2004 2007 2010 2013

% o

f To

tal

Ou

tpu

t

Unaccounted-for-Water Daily Domestic Water Consumption per capita

151

147

140

10.6

~5

Building Resilience into the System

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NEWater Journey

19741998 2000 2002/3

NEWater Pilot Plant set up

PUB embarked on the

NEWater initiative

First Pilot Plant

Expert Panel Report – NEWater is

safe and sustainable

Launch of

NEWater

1974-2003, ~30 years

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1974-2003, ~30 years

“… the elixir of life and in this

case, Singapore’s own

special brand: NEWater” - Ban Ki-Moon, United NationsSecretary-General

• Water quality surpasses USEPA and WHO standards

– 295 water quality parameters, over and above the 100

specified by USEPA and 122 specified by WHO - Physical,

Inorganic, Organic etc.

• Health Effects Study

– No long-term health effect

NEWater

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– No long-term health effect

• Internal Audit and External Audit Panels audited test results and

operations

The Straits Times, 18 July 2002

• Good Branding

– “NEWater”

• Choice of words– “Used Water” vs “Wastewater”

Gaining Public Acceptance

Communicating Effectively

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– “Used Water” vs “Wastewater”

– “Water Reclamation” vs “Sewage Treatment”

• Engaging the Media

– Briefings and visits to NEWater plants

– Media familiarisation trip to USA

– Documentary on national TV

Gaining Public Acceptance

Spreading the Message

Political Leaders

lead by

example

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Endorsement

by water

experts

Branding and Providing samples

Public Education

Concluding Remarks

3 Key Takeaways

• Source Diversification and Demand management are key for

Water Sustainability

• Water Recycling is a safe, sustainable and viable source of

water to “future-proof” a city’s water needs

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• Water Recycling requires political leadership and public

acceptance

The Global Platform to Share and The Global Platform to Share and The Global Platform to Share and The Global Platform to Share and

CoCoCoCo----Create Innovative Water SolutionsCreate Innovative Water SolutionsCreate Innovative Water SolutionsCreate Innovative Water Solutions1 – 5 Jun

Collocated with the World Cities Summit & CleanEnviro Singapore Summit

2014

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