Siau Ming En Today Online 12 Mar 14;
SINGAPORE — With the current dry spell, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Vivian Balakrishnan stressed the need for industries and homes to conserve water.
As part of efforts to help large users of water, such as hotels and wafer-fabrication plants, improve water efficiency, the ministry will make it mandatory for all large users to submit Water Efficiency Management Plans (WEMPs) from next year.
They will have to install private water meters on their premises and submit plans annually to national water agency, the PUB.
Speaking in Parliament at his ministry’s Committee of Supply debate yesterday, Dr Balakrishnan said: “We believe these plans will help companies become more aware of their water usage patterns, (so) they (can) identify ways to reduce consumption and raise efficiency.”
Singapore’s water sources are “reasonably secure for now”, but the Republic should not be complacent.
“We don’t know whether this will turn out to be an El Nino year and, if so, how severe its implications … So the point is, we cannot afford to waste water and need to be very careful to emphasise conservation and insist on efficient use of water across all sectors,” he said.
Dr Balakrishnan added: “I think this is a good reminder that, in fact, flash floods come and go, but droughts can be prolonged and are a much greater strategic threat to our well-being.”
To improve water efficiency in homes, only washing machines with at least a one-tick rating in water efficiency will be allowed for sale in Singapore from next month.
The ministry intends to raise the minimum standard to at least two ticks next year, said Dr Balakrishnan.
As for whether it was “double handling” to add NEWater into reservoirs to produce drinking water — an issue raised by Nee Soon GRC Member of Parliament Lee Bee Wah — Dr Balakrishnan explained that the process of topping up the reservoirs with recycled water and processing the mixed water supply creates an “environmental buffer”.
While NEWater is safe to drink, removing that buffer is a big step to take.
“It is something I will study very, very carefully and I will give you this assurance that our top and paramount concern is public hygiene, safety, security and peace of mind among people, so let’s not rush into this,” he said.
Minister stresses importance of water conservation
Siau Ming En Today Online 11 Mar 14;
SINGAPORE — Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Vivian Balakrishnan stressed the importance of water conservation during the current dry spell in his ministry’s Committee of Supply debate today (March 11), emphasising the need improve water efficiency in both industries and homes.
Speaking in parliament, Dr Balakrishnan said his ministry will make it mandatory for all large water users to submit Water Efficiency Management Plans (WEMPs) with effect from June 2015. These plans help companies better understand their water usage patterns, identify ways to reduce water consumption and raise their water efficiency, he said.
First introduced in 2010, national water agency PUB has been encouraging the voluntary submission of the WEMPs and about 35 per cent of the large water users have done so.
To support these large water users, Dr Balakrishnan added that since March last year, PUB had enhanced the Water Efficiency Fund to co-fund up to 90 per cent or a maximum of S$30,000, for the cost involved with water audits and meter installation. This fund will then be enhanced to better support companies on efforts such as recycling or use of alternative sources of water, he said.
Likewise, to practice water efficiency in homes, Dr Balakrishnan referred to the Minimum Water Efficiency Standards scheme as an example, where only washing machines with at least 1-tick will be allowed for sale in Singapore from next month onwards. He added that the ministry intends to raise the minimum requirement to at least 2-ticks next year.
This will help save both water and money for Singaporeans, he said.
Although water resources ensure that Singapore’s water needs remain secure for now, the country should not be complacent, Dr Balakrishnan added.
