Builders' silt leaks into two rivers

PUB allays fears about catchment contamination
Amresh Gunasingham Straits Times 9 Oct 10;

THE water is brown, murky and certainly an eyesore when contrasted with the manicured grounds of the Seletar Country Club through which it flows.

For weeks, observers have noticed the pollution tainting large swathes of two rivers that flow through the club grounds and empty into the nearby Seletar freshwater catchment area.

'The water is completely polluted with orange sediment,' said one observer, who declined to be named.

The problem: Silt is leaking from massive construction works in the area, where a major aerospace hub is being developed.

Since last year, national water agency PUB has conducted spot checks and identified about 10 construction sites scattered around the 300ha space from which silt is flowing into public drains. The concern is that contaminants in the rivers could spill into the nearby Seletar reservoir.

In colonial times, the area was used by the British as an airport and a military base. Today, it is being turned into a major industrial hub where aviation industry giants such as Rolls-Royce and ST Aerospace will set up shop.

To assuage concerns about the catchment getting contaminated, a PUB spokesman pointed out that a series of silt screens installed along the rivers filters out much of the debris before it ever reaches the reservoir.

The water is also treated at nearby plants to meet specified standards before being pumped into homes, said the spokesman.

The agency has stepped up its enforcement rounds and issued fines reaching into thousands of dollars on 21 occasions to contractors who do not have adequate protection measures in place, such as silt traps and fences that prevent soil from being washed into public waterways.

Typically, such measures have already been specified in tender documents issued to contractors working on projects in open spaces, but the problem does not seem to go away - and the weather is partly to blame.

A spate of heavy rainstorms over the past few months has left the area, which has been cleared of most of its vegetation, vulnerable to soil erosion.

'Because of the recent intense storms, some silty water overflowed from the construction sites and entered the waterways,' said the PUB spokesman.

Such difficulties aside, environmental groups are up in arms over the pollution issue, pointing out that contractors should not be let off the hook after flouting the law. 'We should be setting the best practices for the region,' said Dr Shawn Lum, president of the Nature Society of Singapore.

Contractors working in the area who spoke to The Straits Times said they had complied with the requirements for silt-control measures. They blamed the problem on the heavy rainstorms and the lack of a proper drainage network in the area.

'There is no proper outlet for the silt, so all the water flows into the Seletar Country Club,' said one vexed contractor, who declined to be named. 'In an open area where earth is being dug up, how are we going to prevent silt from going into the drains?'

When contacted about the issue, the country club declined to comment.