Enough clean water for my children and their children - remembering Mr Lee Kuan Yew (LKY)

This week (23 - 29 Mar 2015) marks the mourning of the passing of our first prime minister, Mr Lee Kuan Yew (LKY), widely recognised as Singapore's founding father.

As I was going through the historical documentaries of the man shown continuously on TV, I was reminded of his contributions to the water supply in Singapore. The early years of Singapore (1960s, 70s) were trying times. Massive issues had to be resolved right there and then - housing, education, healthcare, security, jobs and of course water and sanitation. It was mind boggling to contemplate these issues all together, much less come up with workable solutions.

Anyone familiar with human nature should realise that once the basic human needs (e.g. food, water, shelter) are not met or disrupted, you are going to have lots of trouble on your hands. Think about looting, rioting and general social unrest - just look at Chile, Haiti after earthquakes. I am sure there are many more such examples if you google them up.

No, in the chaotic situation that is Singapore in the 1960s, water needs must be effectively addressed. (Sanitation too as I believe water and sanitation are merely 2 sides of the same coin hence the term, watsan but sanitation is a story for another day.)


http://www.pub.gov.sg/water/memory_LKY/Pages/default.aspx:
'In 1963, just a few years after its self-governance was declared, Singapore experienced a severe drought. This harsh experience left a deep mark on the population. As the Prime Minister of Singapore at that time, Mr Lee Kuan Yew was determined to drive Singapore towards water sustainability. This, he did by making water a top priority in government policies. "This [water] dominated every other policy. Every other policy had to bend at the knees for water survival."'

In those early days, LKY already realised that there would not be enough water given the paces of development and population increase. Water from reservoirs and from Malaysia were not going to make it. (Only MacRitchie, Pierce, Seletar and Fort Canning (for the port) were operational as of 1963. Source: PUB) (As of the 1960s, the very first agreement signed in 1927 was no longer in force. 2 others - 1 signed in 1961, another one in 1962, were then operational. Source: Singapore Infopedia)

Looking at the scene now (2015), I am quite pleased to see the 4 National Taps operating - local catchment, imported water, Newater, desalted water. By 2060,

• Total local catchment area will have increased from the current 2/3 to 90% of surface area (see previous post related to this topic)
• http://www.pub.gov.sg/about/historyfuture/Pages/WaterSupply.aspx:
  "Currently, NEWater meets up to 30% of the nation’s current water needs. By 2060, we plan to triple the current NEWater capacity so that NEWater can meet up to 55% of our future water demand."
• http://www.pub.gov.sg/about/historyfuture/Pages/WaterSupply.aspx:
  "Today, desalinated water can meet up to 25% of Singapore’s current water demand. The plan is to grow Singapore’s desalination capacity, so that the Fourth National Tap will be able to meet up to 25% of our future water demand by 2060."
• What is so special about 2060?
  http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_1533_2009-06-23.html:
  "Beyond 2061The Singapore government has stated that it will not renew the 1961 agreement which expires in 2011. Attempts to reach a new deal with Malaysia to secure water supply for Singapore beyond 2061 have not borne fruit despite years of tedious negotiations. To reduce Singapore's dependence on imported water, the government has taken steps to increase the size of the local water catchment area and to build up the supply from non-conventional sources, namely NEWater (reclaimed water) and desalinated water. With the various water projects progressing well, government officials have assured Singaporeans that the country can be self-reliant in water by 2061 if it needs to be."
  
  Yup, so that is it. The last 20% will be served by local catchment by 2060.

With such forward planning, I feel assured that the water needs of the country and my family will be well met...

But... (there's always a but) all these come at a price. Newater and desalted water are not cheap to produce. Requiring sophisticated reverse osmosis units using easily fouled membranes, they basically involve passing contaminated water through a filter that removes the contaminants. Imagine a filter with really small holes that only allow water molecules to go through. Even small stuff like salts and oils are retained on the filter. This is going to use lots of pressure to push the water through and  associated with it are high energy usage and costs.

https://www.cscollege.gov.sg/Knowledge/ethos/Issue%202%20Apr%202007/Pages/Water-Management-in-Singapore.aspx:
"The first year (2003) tender price for NEWater from Singapore's Ulu Pandan plant was S$0.30/m³, which is significantly less than the cost of desalinated water. The selling price of NEWater is S$1.15/m³, which covers production, transmission and distribution costs."

"The cost of the desalinated water during its first year (2005) of operation was S$0.78/cubic metres."

Desalted water is naturally more expensive to produce than Newater because seawater is much more saltier ("contaminated") than normal wastewater in our sewers. As such, you need much higher pressure (translated into energy and cost) to filter off the salt in seawater.

In contrast, the production cost of tap water should be in cents/m³ (sorry, can't find a good source for this figure. I picked it up when I studied about reverse osmosis in university.)  

Finally, don't forget that to ensure water security for our small nation, energy security is a co-requisite. Without natural gas, biofuel or whatever to generate electricity, desalination and Newater production will be adversely affected.