Today Online 28 Mar 14;
SINGAPORE — Since the skies opened up on March 16, ending a dry spell on the island, Singapore’s water consumption has fallen back to 400 million gallons a day (mgd), the normal daily average.
During those hot and dry days, the usage from both domestic and non-domestic sectors rose to 420mgd, national water agency PUB said earlier this month.
The 5 per cent rise in water consumption led Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Vivian Balakrishnan to say in Parliament on March 7 that he was seriously considering a suggestion to conduct water-rationing exercises as a means of public education, even though they were not an operational necessity.
In response to TODAY’s queries, the PUB yesterday said “since the end of the dry spell, daily water usage has normalised to about 400mgd”. Home consumption makes up 45 per cent of daily usage, with the non-domestic sector taking up the rest.
As part of the PUB’s continuing efforts to encourage homes to use more water-efficient household water appliances, the least water-efficient washing machines will no longer be sold in stores from April 1. Instead, only those washing machines with one or more ticks will be allowed for sale.
The more ticks a product has, the more water efficient it is and the PUB yesterday said it plans to raise the minimum requirement for washing machines from one tick to two in 2015.
A one-tick washing machine can save 81 litres of water per wash for a 7kg laundry load. Those with two and three ticks can save 102 litres and 112 litres of water, respectively.
“Laundry is the third most water-consuming activity at home and accounts for 19 per cent of an average family’s monthly water consumption. The PUB has been working with suppliers and retailers to provide clear labelling to indicate the water efficiency of every washing machine. This will help consumers to make an informed choice when buying one,” said Mr Chong Hou Chun, PUB Director of Water Supply Network.
The other top two water-consuming activities at home are showers (29 per cent) and washing in the kitchen sink (22 per cent).
The PUB said sales of washing machines with three ticks had increased by 17 per cent, from 55,174 units sold in 2011 to 79,309 units last year.
Since earlier this month, the PUB has been working with NTUC FairPrice to bring water conservation messages to consumers at its six hypermarkets, such as at Jem, NEX and Changi Business Park.
The exercise includes displaying “Go with more ticks to save water” wobblers at the hypermarket’s washing machine area and “Use a Tumbler” wobblers at its dental products area.
Slight haze forecast for morning, showers in afternoon
Today Online 28 Mar 14;
SINGAPORE — Slightly hazy conditions are expected under light wind conditions in the early morning today (March 28), but prevailing winds from the north-east should keep the haze in Sumatra away from Singapore, the National Environment Agency (NEA) forecast yesterday evening.
The NEA also expects the overall air quality to stay in the moderate range (PSI 51-100) until this evening. Thundery showers in the afternoon have also been forecast.
The number of hotspots detected in Sumatra yesterday increased sharply to 203 from 118 on Wednesday. Smoke plumes and haze were visible in Riau province.
In Peninsular Malaysia, 89 hotspots were detected yesterday.
With the expected onset of the Inter-Monsoon period in the next few days, the prevailing north-easterly winds are expected to gradually weaken and become variable in direction. The NEA says it will be monitoring the winds situation closely and will issue updates when necessary.
