A Slice of History
A new chapter in Singapore's used water management begins with the closing of the Kim Chuan Water Reclamation Plant.
The phasing out of conventional water reclamation plants like Kim Chuan is part of PUB’s long-term used water management plans.
She served the country for 60 years and will go down in history as Singapore’s oldest conventional water reclamation plant. But even grand dames have to make way for growth and advancement. In February 2008, PUB shut its doors on the Kim Chuan Water Reclamation Plant, progressively moving its used water treatment to the Deep Tunnel Sewerage System which includes a new centralised water reclamation plant at Changi.
Opened in 1948, the Kim Chuan plant went through several phases of expansion and development. Its capacity for used water treatment increased 20 times from an initial 14,000 cubic metres/day to 282,000 cubic metres/day. The plant, which provided modern sanitation to an increasing population, served the central and eastern part of Singapore, including new towns such as Bishan, Hougang and Eunos.
With the closure, all 76 Kim Chuan employees have been redeployed, with most moving to the Changi plant. One of them is Mr Lip Wing Cheong, Kim Chuan’s longestserving employee. The 65-year-old Higher Technician who takes care of electricalrelated maintenance and repair works, recalls the early days at Kim Chuan.
In the ’60s and ’70s, water treatment methods were not as advanced, people who passed by the Kim Chuan plant were hit by sewage smells. Our new Changi plant uses advanced water treatment methods and closed used water tanks so odour is eradicated.”
TUNNEL VISION
It’s been dubbed a superhighway for used water management. Say hello to the Deep Tunnel Sewerage System (DTSS), PUB’s answer to Singapore’s long-term used water management needs. Comprising a 48-km long deep tunnel that spans from Kranji to Changi, a centralised used water treatment plant at Changi, a network of link sewers and a deep sea outfall, the first phase of the DTSS, costing some S$3.65 billion, is expected to meet Singapore’s used water needs for the next 100 years. Slated for completion next year, this mammoth project has been attracting much interest. We outline the benefits of the DTSS:
IT TAKES UP LESS LAND. The DTSS works entirely by gravity, eliminating the need for pumping stations. As a result, land used to site water reclamation plants and pumping stations will be freed up. The closure of the Kim Chuan plant will see 33 ha of land (about 45 football fields) earmarked for redevelopment.
IT’S COMPACT. The new Changi plant is one-third the size of a conventional water reclamation plant as treatment tanks are stacked, whereas at Kim Chuan they were spread over a large area.
MANPOWER SAVINGS. The centralisation of used water treatment at Changi allows for greater economies of scale while advances in technology have led to more automation of processes. Consequently, for each unit of used water treated, the manpower at Changi is half that at Kim Chuan.
IT’S ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY. While Kim Chuan used open tanks, the Changi plant uses closed used water tanks, eradicating odour.
The DTSS won the IES Prestigious Engineering Achievement Award in Singapore and the Asean Outstanding Engineering Achievement Award in 2005. In addition, after winning the International Water Association East Asia and Pacific Regional Project Innovation Awards (Planning Projects category), the DTSS has been announced as the global winner in the Planning Projects category.
As for his fondest memories of Kim Chuan, Mr Lip describes how fruit trees within the compound added a touch of shady serenity. “Visitors always commented that our water reclamation plant looked more like a garden!”
The phasing out of conventional water reclamation plants is part of PUB’s longterm used water management plans. The Deep Tunnel Sewerage System is a robust and sustainable used water system that will bring us many benefits such as land and manpower savings,” said Mr Wah Yuen Long, PUB’s Director of Water Reclamation Plants. Other water reclamation plants to be decommissioned include those at Bedok and Seletar.
DID YOU KNOW?
Singapore’s used water management started with the nightsoil bucket system. In 1910, the first small-scale used water system was set up within the city area.
By the mid-1980s, everyone in Singapore had access to modern sanitation. Today, the country is 100 per cent sewered.
Forty-one per cent of the world’s population has no access to basic sanitation. To draw attention to this global issue, the United Nations has declared 2008 as the International Year of Sanitation.
