Water is an issue of life & death for Singapore: PUB chief

S Ramesh Channel NewsAsia 30 Jul 12;

SINGAPORE: Singapore's second water agreement with Malaysia expires in 2061 but the Republic will be able to meet its water requirements independently ahead of this expiry date of the agreement "if need be", said Chew Men Leong, the chief executive of the national water agency PUB.

He made the point in a recent interview with wire agency Bloomberg.

A spokesperson for PUB also stressed that Singapore will be abiding by the 2061 agreement till it expires.

The first water agreement with Malaysia expired on 31 August 2011.

Mr Chew added that Singapore spent S$600 million to S$800 million a year since 2006 on water infrastructure to boost its supply.

And he said the Republic has made progress to the point that it is now much more confident in terms of water security and sustainability.

Mr Chew however added that his main worry is climate change and how that lowers water levels at reservoirs.

Changing weather patterns also led to heavy rainfalls and flash floods that added stress to Singapore's drainage systems, where parts of the Orchard Road shopping belt were affected over the past two years.

PUB is also working on reducing water consumption, Mr Chew said, through measures ranging from mandatory dual-flushing systems for toilets and automatic faucets in all public restrooms.

All this, because water is an issue of "life and death here" and that's always been the message, the PUB chief emphasised.

- CNA/ck

Singapore to meet water target before deadline
Today Online 30 Jul 12;

SINGAPORE - Singapore will be able to meet its water requirements independently ahead of the 2061 expiration of a century-long supply agreement with Malaysia "if need be", the head of the city-state's water utility said.

Desalination and recycling plants produce 40 per cent of the 380 million British gallons of water companies in Singapore and its 5.2 million population use daily, Mr Chew Men Leong, chief executive of PUB, said in an interview on July 27. A downtown dam adds a further 10 per cent, with the remaining coming from its reservoirs and imports from Malaysia.

"We have made progress to the point that we are now much more confident in terms of water security and sustainability," said Mr Chew, 44, a former naval chief who joined the utility about a year ago. "If you're asking me this question about when will we ever get self-sufficiency, I will put it this way that we can be self-sufficient if need be."

Singapore, which relied on Malaysia for its water needs, spent S$600 million to S$800 million a year since 2006 on new technologies to boost its supply. The push to develop the industry has drawn businesses including General Electric and Siemens to invest, and created local water companies such as Hyflux that have expanded overseas.

"What they are looking to do is create a virtual market for the water business which is much larger than Singapore," said Mr Glen Daigger, chief technology officer of CH2M Hill, an Colorado-based industry consulting firm. "By becoming a thought leader for water in Asia, then they really create a market which is orders of magnitude bigger than Singapore itself."

Chew said his main worry is climate change and how that lowers water levels at reservoirs. Changing weather patterns also led to heavy rainfalls and flash floods that added stress to its drainage systems, where parts of the Orchard Road shopping belt were affected over the past two years.

PUB is also working on reducing water consumption, he said, with measures ranging from mandatory dual-flushing systems for toilets and automatic faucets in all public restrooms.

The average usage per person is now 153.4 litres a day, down from 165 litres nine years ago, he said. That's expected to fall to 147 litres by the end of the decade and 140 litres in the following 10 years, he said.

"Here, water is an issue of life and death," Mr Chew said. "That's always been the message." BLOOMBERG