NEWater
Desalination
Singapore has also been exploring the use of desalination.
Desalination is the removal of excess salt in sea water and the purification of
it to make it fit for human consumption and irrigation purposes. Using such a
method to increase the water supply in Singapore is smart as Singapore is
surrounded by sea water since it’s an island. Construction of Singapore’s first
desalination plant was completed in 2004 and this began operation in 2005, it
is located in Tuas. With a capacity of 136 380 cubic metres of water a day, it
can supply enough water to meet around 10% of our water demand. Thus, it reduces
the reliance we have on the imported water from Malaysia and the dependence we
have on our reservoirs.
Increase of water catchment areas
There are other strategies for Singapore to practically and
efficiently increase its limited water supply. For example, increasing the
catchment area by building more reservoirs. Currently, the Marina Barrage,
Singapore’s largest freshwater reservoir will increase rainfall catchment to
two-thirds of the country's surface area from one half. Two more reservoirs, in
Punggol and Serangoon are being constructed to add on to Singapore’s local
catchment area. Educating the public in water conserve water is also an
alternative method. The Ministry of Environment and Water Resources (MEWR) has
made up ways to conserve water at home like installing low-flush systems into
our toilets or washing laundry at full load when using the washing machine.
Using such technological methods, NEWater and desalination to
sustain Singapore’s water supply is a good solution as it has helped increase
the amount of water in Singapore. It is effective and efficiently sustains the
water supply, however due to its cost, it is not practical to use it in the
long term.
International agreement
Other method that Singapore use to deal with water constraint in
the country is singing contract agreement with other countries like Malaysia,
Indonesia, etc. Up to today, Singapore is still singing contract with Malaysia
for water supply. There are total of 4 contracts Singapore had signed with
Malaysia. The first contract was signed in 1927 which is no longer in force. Water imported from Malaysia under the other three
agreements - signed in 1961, 1962 and 1990 - meets about half of Singapore's
water demand. The 1961 contract had expired in 2011. In August 2011,
Singapore’s Public Utilities Board (PUB) handed over two Johor water treatment
plants to the Johor government following the expiry of the 1961 Water
Agreement. The contract will be expired in 2061.
The VASSI 's goegraphy project group thinks:
The best choice is using technologies to recycle water like the NEWater in Singapore because this method does not need to sign any international agreements with of other countries in order to buy water from them. This method also does not need the process of desalination of water. Desalinate water might not be as clean as the NEWater treatment because the waste materials were improperly dispose into the reservoir. NEWater allows the residents in a country to reuse their water by recycling the used water. This can help to decrease the amount of water being wasted. NEWater can be use for any daily uses like washing clothes, drinking, cooking, bathing, etc. Therefore, using technologies to recycle water like NEWater is the best way to deal with water constraint in a country.
SOURCES
Done by VASSI, 2-3
Valerie
Anna
Sue
Shu Qi
Ilyasa
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