Tee Zhuo Straits Times 16 oct 18;
SINGAPORE - A contractor will be taken to task for polluting a canal in Bukit Timah with silt, PUB said on Tuesday (Oct 16).
In its statement, Singapore's national water agency said that it had investigated and confirmed the material discharged into the canal after a heavy downpour last Wednesday was silt.
"We have traced the silty discharge to a nearby construction site that had failed to provide adequate earth control measures on site," PUB added.
In a video provided to citizen journalism website Stomp last Wednesday, pale, muddy water can be seen flowing out of openings on the inner walls of the canal on what appears to be a rainy day.
Silty water is generated when rainwater run-off mixes with exposed earth materials and soil at construction sites, PUB said.
PUB said that the contractor has since rectified the lapses and that the agency will be taking enforcement actions against the company.
Contractors are required to implement measures at construction sites to remove silt from water before discharging it into public drains.
Offenders can be fined up to $5,000 for each offence of silty water discharge, and up to $50,000 for inadequate earth control measures.
