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PUB > About Us > History & Future > Water Supply
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   Water Supply

History and Future of Water Supply

The Early Years

A donation of $13,000 by philanthropist, Mr Tan Kim Seng in 1857 marked the start of Singapore's piped water supply.

An earth embankment was completed in 1867 to impound water created Singapore's first reservoir. Then known as Thomson Road Reservoir, it was later renamed MacRitchie Reservoir.

A second reservoir, Peirce Reservoir was completed by 1910.

Water from local catchment

Today, Singapore has 14 reservoirs and a network of stormwater collection ponds that help prevent flooding during heavy rains. By 2009, the water catchment area will increase from half to two-thirds of Singapore’s land surface with the completion of Marina Reservoir and Punggol-Serangoon reservoir schemes.

Imported water

Singapore has also been importing water from Johor, Malaysia, under two bilateral agreements. These will expire in 2011 and 2061.

NEWater

NEWater is high-grade reclaimed water produced from treated used water that is purified further using advanced membrane technologies, making the water ultra-clean and safe to drink. NEWater has passed more than 30,000 scientific tests and surpasses World Health Organisation requirements.

NEWater is mainly supplied to industrial and commercial customers. Since it is ultra-clean, it is ideal for water fabrication plants which require high-quality water.

A small amount of NEWater is also blended with raw reservoir water and treated before it is supplied for potable use.

Currently, there are four NEWater plants in Singapore. The fifth NEWater plant at Changi will be Singapore’s largest NEWater plant. NEWater will meet about 30 percent of Singapore’s total water demand by 2010.

The NEWater Visitor Centre, which was opened in February 2003, is the focal point of PUB’s public education on NEWater. The centre highlights the importance of water and how Singapore leverages on advances in technology to reclaim water. Visitors are able to view firsthand the operation of the advanced dual membrane and ultraviolet technologies used to produce NEWater.

Desalinated water

This plant can produce 30 million gallons of water a day (136,000 cubic meters) and is one of the region’s largest seawater reverse-osmosis plants.
 
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