Singapore manages and uses water efficiently

Lack of water is a global heat issue, and like food or oil, water supplies are increasingly considered a national security issue. Singapore had a headache before the problem of not enough water for living and production, but now the lion island nation has found a way out .

"Although it is on the equator and has a lot of rain, we do not have natural water storage and no groundwater," said Khoo Teng Chye, director of the Singapore Public Service Commission. Singapore was forced to choose a force majeure solution to import water from neighboring Malaysia, resolving the shortage of water became more urgent after Malaysia proposed to raise water prices by 15-20 times.

In the face of such a difficult situation, Singapore aims to find alternative ways to provide 1.36 billion liters of clean water to 4.4 million people every day. The first is to build a series of large reservoirs to 'catch as much rain as possible', raising the land area used to store water from 50% to 65%. In addition, desalination plants that convert seawater into domestic water also increase capacity, meeting 10% of people's needs.

NEWater bottled water.

However, the true breakthrough comes from NEWater, the 'used water' recycling technology . 'We use the term' used water 'instead of' waste water 'so that people understand that water is a resource,' Khoo explained. Plants use microfiltration or ultrafiltration systems, reverse osmosis membranes and ultraviolet technology to produce water with a level of cleanness equal to distilled water.

'Singapore has succeeded in finding solutions to balance the quantity and quality of water, between supply and demand management, and between national strategic interests and economic efficiency', according to the Journal's assessment. international development of water resources.

Five years ago, the cost of producing one cubic meter of freshwater from seawater costs S $ 3 ($ 2.2). With NEWater technology, the cost is reduced to $ 0.3. It is predicted that in the next 3-4 years, 5 NEWater factories will meet 30% of the lion island's water demand.

According to Mr. Khoo, now every drop in Singapore is used twice, equivalent to 50% efficiency while the target is 70%. To achieve this goal, in parallel with the application of technology, Singapore is stepping up investment in technical infrastructure with plans to build larger factories to reduce production costs. It is expected that from now to 2013, the country will invest an additional 3.5 billion USD in water production.

Thanks to the success of the NEWater program, last April, Singapore was selected to award the 'Environmental Contribution of the Year' within the 2008 Global Water Prize. 'Singapore is at the forefront of the world in reusing water. other countries will definitely have to learn, '' says Christopher Gasson, editor in chief of the Global Intelligence Journal, a jury member. In addition, June to Singapore will host the International Water Week bringing together water experts and policy makers to find solutions to effectively manage global water resources.