My Debate

Have the Four National Taps in Singapore finally overcome the constraints of water supply?

NO.

1) Disadvantages of Local Catchment

The local catchment, meaning reservoirs, are dependent on the rainfall in Singapore. As the annual rainfall fluctuates, so does the amount of water collected in our 17 reservoirs around Singapore. If we experience a drought, this National Tap will be heavily affected. As it accounts for 50% of Singapore's total water needs, this may be a serious problem if a hiccup in local catchment occurs. Yearly, we experience dry spells throughout the June-August period of time, affecting our water supply during these months. The reservoirs also take up a huge amount of valuable space in Singapore. They occupy 2/3 of Singapore's limited land space of 704km^2. Singapore is currently the 2nd most densely populated country in the world, right behind Monaco. We have 5.312 million people, so land is scarce. Thus precious land space used up for local catchment is a big problem in Singapore.

2)Imported Water

We have made 2 agreements with Malaysia over the importing of water. The first one, established in 1961, expired in 2011, while the 2nd one signed in 1962 ends in 2061. In turn, Malaysia is allowed the right to buy back some of the potable water back from Singapore after we have treated it. Singapore hopes to become fully self-sufficient in water when 2061 comes. The problem with importing water from Malaysia is that we are too dependent on another country. If a war breaks loose, or tensions become so intense that Malaysia decides to stop the water supply to Singapore, this would be disastrous. This accounts for 1/3 of Singapore's water needs, and this is no small amount. The instability of such an agreement is the disadvantage of importing water from overseas.

3)NEWater.

NEWater treats sewer water through several advanced membrane systems and UV disinfection. This leads to Singaporeans harbouring a stereotype against NEWater, thinking of it as waste water. This discourages people from buying and drinking the treated water, even as NEWater has exceeded the guidelines from international water standards. NEWater's equipment also requires a large amount of investment for research beforehand, after that also maintaining the filters and membranes as well as the electricity cost of the water treatment costs a bomb, affecting Singapore's economy. Although NEWater takes up a small percentage of Singapore's water demands, every percent counts in the resource-scarce Singapore, and if the people are not willing to accept NEWater the water supply will continue to dwindle.

4) Desalination

Desalination is the process of extracting clean, potable water from impurities in seawater. This means the water has to go through several filters and Reverse Osmosis and other water technological advances to clean the water and remove the salt. This results in a huge cost in producing drinkable water through desalination. The high economic cost is the major reason why we only have 1 desalination plant in Tuas now, the SingSpring Plant. It meets 10% of Singapore's needs currently, and Singapore is building another desalination plant. 70 million gallons of water is expected to be produced by the second plant upon completion in 2013.

YES.

Tap 1: Water from local catchments. (Reservoirs)

The sources for this tap is from, rainfall or reservoir. There are 14 reservoirs island wide.1/2 to 2/3 ofSingapore is used as water catchments. There is 10 reservoirs in Singapore. They are located at, Kranji, Sarimbun, Murai, Poyan, Tengeh, Jurong Lake, Pandan, Upper, Lower Peirce, MacRitchie,Marina, Bedok, Punggol, Serangoon, Lower Seletar and Upper Seletar. The advantage of this source is more nature reserves and areas of greenery can be conserved in the process. Lower cost-rainwater is easier and it is also long term. The disadvantage of this source is ineffective in times of drought. It is also not viable for small countries due to the lack of land.

Tap 2: Imported Water

Singapore have been buying water from Malaysia since 1920.They signed 2 agreements in 1961. On 1^st September, the Federation of Malaya signed the 1st agreement giving Singapore the right draw up to 86 million imperial gallons of water per day collectively and the agreement expired in 2011 and on 29 September Singapore signed another agreement providing up to 250 million imperial gallons of water per day and it expires in 2061. Both agreement stipulated the price of 3 cents per 1000 imperial gallons. However, it may not be the best solution as the countries may not want to continue supplying water. The advantage of this source is convenient way of obtaining water supplies. The disadvantages is not sustainable in the long run as the contract can expire. Higher cost- some countries may increase the price of their water to earn more.

Tap 3: NEWater

Resources from:
video: http://youtu.be/BIpNP_UjVI0

information: http://www.pub.gov.sg/Pages/default.aspx
 Advantages of NEWater.

NEWater is obtained after reclaiming used water. Treated used water are used for  further purified, making it suitable for human consumption. With the addition of the fifth and largest NEWater plant at Changi. NEWater now meets 30% of Singapore's total water demand. It is said that by 2060, NEWater is projected to meet 50% of Singapore's future water demand. The advantage of this source is there will be more water in Singapore after recycling used water. Singapore can be self sufficient and this is a long term solution. 

The disadvantage is people are not used to drinking recycled water as the taste is different due to the removal of nutrients in recycling process. It is also expensive.

Tap 4: Desalinated Water

There is a SingSpring Desalination Plant in Tuas. It supplies 136000 million litres of desalinated water daily, which meets about 10% of Singapore's water needs.

An integral role in Singapore's drive towards self-sufficiency. Meet future needs at an affordable costs. The advantage of this source is seawater can be converted into potable water for domestic and industrial purposes. Singapore can be self-sufficient and this is a long term solution. The disadvantage of this source is high cost of building and operating desalination and water treatment plants. It cost $200 million- SingSpring Desalination Plant. 

Based on our evaluation on the 4 taps, our team would like to propose NEWater to be the best method to be adopted.  The advantages of NEWater are as follows.

·         It reduces Singapore's dependence on imported water from other countries. (By having the NEWater , Singapore can be totally self-sufficient if there is no new water agreement We do not need to depend on Malaysia for water which costs a lot since we have created our own source of drinking water.

·          

·         Cheaper than desalination

·         Not weather dependent

·         Sustainable and environmentally friendly

·          

·         Will not be in threat from Malaysia for water issues. Often, Malaysia will use the water agreement to threaten Singapore. With source : (On the importance of self-sufficiency in water, he said: "Whenever there were serious bilateral disagreements, some Malaysian politicians would use water as leverage to pressure us to compromise in their favour.")