Pasir Ris beach still polluted

NEA warns swimmers that waters remain too contaminated with bacterium in faeces
Grace Chua Straits Times 8 Sep 10;

FOR the third year in a row, picnickers hoping to swim in the waters off Pasir Ris Beach will be disappointed, as the area off the north-eastern shore is still too contaminated by a bacterium found in faeces to swim safely in.

The National Environment Agency (NEA) gave the water there a 'fair' rating in its annual update on beach water quality yesterday, after finding too many samples containing unsafe levels of the enterococcus bacterium, which can cause gastro-intestinal illnesses like vomiting and diarrhoea if swimmers come into contact with it.

The bacterium is found in animal and human faeces, and the problem appears to be the proximity of smaller sewage treatment plants in Tampines and Changi which discharge the effluents into the area. Water treatment agency PUB said the currents off Pasir Ris Beach were not strong enough to carry the discharge out and disperse it at sea.

Some older sewage pipes may also be leaking untreated sewage.

In a study last year, the NEA also said that other sources of contamination could be moored vessels and animals in the area.

Pasir Ris has received the same rating since 2008.

It may come as small comfort to know that waters there have not actually degraded, but that more stringent World Health Organisation guidelines have been in place since that year, said the NEA.

It advised the public not to swim in Pasir Ris until the next water quality review in August next year, as works are ongoing to phase out the sewage treatment facilities nearby.

Upgrading works are also being carried out to connect sewage pipes to a modern treatment facility in Changi, with its deep-water discharge pipe.

In contrast, the recreational beaches at Sentosa, Seletar Island, Sembawang Park, Changi and East Coast Park passed water quality tests with flying colours.

In water samples collected from Pasir Ris, 7 per cent contained more than 200 enterococcus bacteria per 100ml of water, exceeding World Health Organisation benchmarks.

Only beaches with not more than 5 per cent of such samples are suitable for swimming, wakeboarding and other activities involving full-body contact or immersion.

Prior to 2008, the NEA had used a different bacterium type called faecal coliforms as a water quality measure, but enterococcus was found to be a better indicator of health risks.

At the drab and rocky Pasir Ris Beach yesterday, no one was swimming though a few people were wading.

None of the 10 beachgoers asked knew about the pollution and no-swimming advisory.

University student Lewis Tan, 20, said: 'The water looks okay, but now that I know, we're not going into the water.'

Another beachgoer, a 16-year-old student who wanted to be known only as Ashwin, pointed out that the uninvitingly murky water put people off swimming anyway.

Dr Ole Larsen, director of the DHI-NTU research centre studying water and environment issues, noted that enterococcus was an indicator of faecal contamination.

'There are many more people in Singapore than there are wild animals, so that's probably the best place to look,' Dr Larsen said.

He added that the highest numbers of bacteria tend to be found in sources that come from land, so sources farther offshore, such as Pulau Ubin or military training island Pulau Tekong, are unlikely to be the culprits.

PUB said it had started making plans to phase out the area's sewage treatment plants and mend the sewerage network in 2007.

By next year, about 23km of ageing sewers in the area will be repaired.

And by 2012, the sewerage network will be extended, doing away with 39 older sewage treatment plants.

Besides the PUB measures, the NEA is also working with the Maritime and Port Authority to make sure ships moored offshore do not discharge sewage directly into the water.

NEA advises public to refrain from swimming at Pasir Ris beach
S Ramesh Channel NewsAsia 7 Sep 10;

SINGAPORE: The National Environment Agency (NEA) has issued its annual water quality review of the six recreational beaches for this year and Pasir Ris beach continues to be graded as "fair" in this area.

NEA has thus advised the public to refrain from swimming at Pasir Ris beach until the next review in August 2011.

The water quality of Sentosa Island, Seletar Island, Sembawang Park, Changi and East Coast Park beaches are again graded "very good" or "good".

NEA said they are suitable for primary contact activities.

In the latest grading for Pasir Ris beach, seven per cent of the collected samples had enterococcus counts greater than 200 per 100 ml, compared to eight per cent in 2009.

Enterococcus is a type of bacteria found in the faeces of human and warm blooded animals.

According to a study released by NEA in 2009, Pasir Ris beach's water quality is affected by various possible sources.

Among them is minor leakage from older sewers, moored vessels, animals, as well as discharges from small-scale sewage treatment plants that presently serve the more remote areas in Pasir Ris.

The low beach water currents are not effective in diluting and dispersing the discharges.

To help improve the water quality at Pasir Ris beach, PUB has an ongoing plan to extend the sewer network and phase out the 39 sewer treatment plants in the Halus/Tampines, Changi and Selerang areas by 2012.

PUB is also carrying out a sewer rehabilitation programme for aging sewers in this area, under which 23 kilometres of sewers will be rehabilitated by 2011.

NEA said it would continue to closely monitor the water quality at Pasir Ris beach and inform the public of the updated beach gradings in our next annual review.

-CNA/wk

Pasir Ris beach still unsafe for swimming
Esther Ng Today Online 8 Sep 10;

SINGAPORE - Two years on, it is still not safe to swim at Pasir Ris beach.

The water there is contaminated with enterococcus - a type of bacteria found in the faeces of human and warm-blooded animals. And it is expected to stay this way for at least another year.

In its annual review of Singapore's six recreational beaches, the National Environment Agency (NEA) assessed the water quality off Pasir Ris beach as "fair": Some 7 per cent of samples collected had enterococcus counts greater than 200 per 100 millilitre, compared to 8 per cent last year.

Pasir Ris beach was first classified as unsafe for swimming in 2008, when the NEA rolled out a new grading system on recreational water quality for beaches which was based on World Health Organisation guidelines revised in 2003.

The NEA said in its latest review that possible sources for the contamination include minor leakage from older sewers, moored vessels, animals, as well as discharges from small-scale sewage treatment plants in the remote areas.

The NEA noted in a statement that the "low water currents in the concave part of Pasir Ris beach are not effective in diluting and dispersing the discharges".

To help improve the water quality at the beach, the PUB will extend the sewer network and phase out the 39 sewage treatment plants in the Halus/Tampines, Changi and Selerang areas by 2012.

It also has an ongoing sewer rehabilitation programme for ageing sewers in this area - 23 km of sewers will be rehabilitated by next year.

Work on the phasing out of the sewage treatment plants and sewer rehabilitation are both on schedule, said the NEA.

Meanwhile, the public is advised not to swim at Pasir Ris beach until the next review in August.

Since August 2008, signs have been put up along the beach to advise beach-goers against swimming in the waters.

Pasir Ris resident Khaled Talib, 46, felt the undesirable water quality was a "pity". He said: "As a result, residents here are not maximising the full use of the beach."

Under the NEA's latest review, beaches at Sentosa, Seletar Island, Sembawang Park, Changi and East Coast Park were graded "very good" or "good" for the third time in a row.


Shops at Pasir Ris beach see drop in business after NEA report
Ng Lian Cheong/Alvina Soh Channel NewsAsia 11 Sep 10;

SINGAPORE : Shops at Pasir Ris beach are seeing a drop in business, with people avoiding the area.

This follows the National Environment Agency's annual water quality review that showed it is still not safe to swim at Pasir Ris beach.

Empty tables, closed shops and barely-occupied beaches were a common sight at Pasir Ris beach this week.

Businesses, including shops and snack stores, have been affected.

Snack store owners said they earn about S$100 per day, a drop of 20 per cent from the previous week.

Shops renting out rollerblades also reported a lack of customers.

However, shop owners are optimistic. They said they expect business to pick up eventually. - CNA/ms