Singapore Continuing to Turn to Technology to Convert Waste Water into Potable Water

The government says that maintaining a stable supply of water against rising energy costs is a key challenge for Singapore. This is down to Singapore Continuing to Turn to Technology to Convert Waste Water into Potable Water – which inevitably requires energy.

Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, said this at the launch of the “Singapore Water Story” book on Friday.

Other experts are keen to address however that to allow for such continued success, hurdles remain ahead.

PUB chairman Tan Gee Paw expressed how “The big challenge would be to ensure sustainability of supply against rising energy costs. The sustainability of the water supply is extremely important to us. Then there’s the issue of water security going into the future, because of climate change and the threat of drought.”

Dr Balakrishnan said the success of the Singapore water story is a combination of getting the right formula of politics, economics and technology. For example, other countries which do not charge for water can learn from Singapore’s strategy to do so.

“The price that we charge for water at the tap in Singapore, full price is 1,000 times cheaper than the price of water in a bottle,” he said.

Experts also said politicians have to be steadfast, like then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, to ensure a success story like Singapore’s.

Founder of Third World Centre for Water Management in Mexico, Mr. Asit Biswas, said: “Every month, when the Singapore River was being cleaned up, he wanted the report on his desk, what’s happening, what’s the progress, what are the problems. So he was consistently looking at how to make Singapore more water self-sufficient.”

Biswas was visiting professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School for Public Policy in Singapore.