That goal is not in the plans for now; drive to make desalinated and reclaimed water more price competitive
Lin Yanqin Today Online 15 Sep 08;
SINCE independence, Singaporeans have lived with the belief that the future would be bleak without a pipeline, literally, to Malaysia. With limited catchment areas on the island, Singapore has needed to get water supply from its neighbour.
But decades on, does this assumption still hold?
The issue will be raised today in Parliament, as MP Lam Pin Min asks for an update on Singapore’s effort in achieving self-sufficiency in water.
Since the mid-90s, when it conducted feasibility studies on desalination, the Government has pushed to diversify water sources in order to secure water sustainability. In 2002, NEWater officially entered the national lexicon when 60,000 Singaporeans drank it at the National Day Parade.
Now, Singapore has four “national taps” — desalination is also a reality — and her water supplies seem to be secure, even if the tap of imported water is turned off. But self-sustainability, while theoretically possible, is not in the plans for now.
“We can be self-sufficient if there is the need,” said Mr Yap Kheng Guan, PUB’s 3P Network director. “But it’s not a goal. We’ll make use of all sources available to us.”
Singapore’s water agreements with Malaysia — signed in 1961 and 1962 — come up for renewal in 2011 and 2061 respectively. The Government will let the first agreement lapse.
Water independence through desalinated and reclaimed water comes at a price, though — both are still more expensive than treating imported and catchment water. Desalination, in particular, costs around twice that of NEWater, said Mr Yap. And how long it will take for both processes to become more cost efficient remains to be seen.
So, having four national taps helps to keep the cost of water down for consumers, pointed out Hyflux chief technology officer Fong Chun Hoe, who told :Today:: “If it’s more cost effective, it makes sense economically to keep that tap turned on.”
Meanwhile, the push continues to make desalinated and reclaimed water more price competitive.
The Environment and Water Industry Development Council awarded $4 million recently to Siemens Water Technology to develop a more energy-efficient desalination process within the next three years.
Siemen’s vice president (research and development) Dr Ruediger Knauf said the company’s work on electrically-driven processes, rather than traditional methods such as reverse osmosis, could mean price competitiveness within five years. “For other methods of desalination, costs could fall over the next five years, but probably marginally,” he told :Today:. “But the timeline is really a moving target.”
According to Hyflux’s Mr Fong, the price competitiveness of desalinated or recycled water here also depends on the cost of treating water from its traditional sources. “Depending on the quality of the water, costs can go up if the water requires more processes to become potable. So there are other variable factors when it comes to the question of cost competitiveness. Pollution will be an issue,” he said.
He believes it is possible to see desalinated water become price competitive within the decade. “In fact, with the tremendous push and amount of money going into research ... I won’t be surprised to see developments within three years.”
Considerable investments are also being made to further develop Singapore’s catchment areas. When the $226-million Marina Barrage is in operation, the new downtown reservoir will be able to meet 10 per cent of Singapore’s water needs at current usage levels. :
Together with the future Punggol and Serangoon reservoirs, it will increase the size of Singapore’s water catchment area from half to two-thirds of the island’s land surface.
“Years back, we didn’t look at water from urban catchments — such as canals and sewers — as drinking water, but we now have the technology to treat it,” said Mr Yap, who explained that water from canals will be part of the water flowing into Marina Reservoir. “It (the barrage) is a sign of what’s possible.”
Mr Yap is also proud of how Singapore has managed its water systems, particularly in reducing water leakages. “We’ve kept out loss of water due to leakage of below 5 per cent; in some countries it can reach30 or even 40 per cent,” he said. “So part of managing water supplies efficiently is making sure the systems are functioning smoothly.”
The fact that Singapore has moved to secure its water supplies, however, should not mean that the average Singaporean can become complacent about water use, he stressed. “You shouldn’t squander it away,” he said.
He hopes PUB programmes such as Active, Beautiful and Clean Waters will remind Singaporeans why conserving water and keeping it clean is important. “When they’re enjoying the water and the facilities, hopefully they’ll come to value it,” he said.
