NEWater is ultra-clean and pure

NEWater is entirely wholesome and safe to drink. In fact, did you know that NEWater is highly sought after by wafer fabrication and manufacturing companies, which require ultra-pure water for their production processes? This is a testament to the quality of NEWater, which has passed more than 150,000 scientific tests and is well within the World Health Organisation (WHO) Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality and United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) drinking water standards.

Today, NEWater is primarily supplied to non-domestic sectors, industrial estates and commercial buildings for non-potable industrial and air-cooling purposes. It is also used to top up reservoir levels where the blended water is further treated at the water treatment plants before it is supplied to the population.

Used water travels by a superhighway – the Deep Tunnel Sewerage System (DTSS)

Did you know our used water is transported by gravity via the DTSS to the water reclamation plants for treatment? Used water is then further purified into NEWater. Imagine the DTSS as a superhighway for used water, deeper than our underground malls and most of our MRT lines. They are deep tunnels with diameters of up to 6 metres and stretch across Singapore up to 55 metres underground! DTSS Phase 1, which serves the eastern part of Singapore was completed in 2008. DTSS Phase 2, that serves the western part of the island, is currently undergoing construction and expected to complete in 2025.


Image: Deep Tunnel Sewerage System (DTSS) 2

Click here to find out more!

…And goes through a 3-step process before it is transformed into clear and sparkling NEWater

You may have seen these large infrastructures before. These are egg-shaped digestors at Kranji Water Reclamation Plant (KWRP), which break down organic waste in used water and is an essential step of used water treatment.

Treated used water from KWRP is sent to Kranji NEWater Factory for NEWater production. The NEWater treatment consists of three main processes – microfiltration (MF), reverse osmosis (RO) and UV disinfection. At the MF stage, microscopic particles including bacteria are filtered out while undesirable contaminants including viruses are removed during the downstream RO stage. The water at this stage is of high-grade quality, which then passes through ultraviolet light which is capable of killing organisms as a back-up to ensure the purity of NEWater.


Image: Egg-shaped digestors present at Kranji Water Reclamation Plant

Reusable NEWater bottles are now available, so you can toast to the nation's 56th birthday in style!

NEWater is a key pillar in our water sustainable journey, and has allowed us to turn our vulnerability into a strategic asset. To commemorate Singapore's 56th birthday and in line with PUB's key sustainability efforts, we have produced a new reusable 600ml NEWater bottle, made from polypropylene plastic (PP) and is BPA-free.

The specially designed shrink wrap label features Singapore landmarks (spot the Esplanade and Marina Bay Sands), together with various water icons representing water resilience and sustainability that Singapore has proudly achieved over the years. The water icons collectively represent the rigorous treatment process in the production of NEWater.

Carry the NEWater bottle with pride and quench your thirst during the warm weather. If you have received these bottles, remember to reuse them and hydrate sustainably!


Image: Primary 5 level students from Mayflower Primary School hydrating with NEWater


Image: Sustainable and reusable NEWater bottle taken with NEWater Visitor Centre (NVC) in the background

Interested to learn more? Drop by NEWater Visitor Centre or Sustainable Singapore Gallery for a fun tour to learn more about NEWater and collect your reusable bottle for free. sign up here.