Govt eyes limits on water use in severe drought

SINGAPORE — Washing of cars and pavements, as well as the watering of lawns, could become offences in times of severe drought.

The Government is considering changes to the Public Utilities Act to impose water restrictions during severe drought, said Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Vivian Balakrishnan yesterday during his ministry’s Committee of Supply debate.

Water consumption went up during the dry spell in February last year despite reminders to conserve the resource. But the authorities did not have to resort to water rationing because of infrastructure, such as water recycling and desalination plants, built over the years, he said.

“Whilst I don’t envisage the need for water rationing, I do need to put people on notice that if the dry spell or drought is prolonged, we will have to impose water restrictions and to impose (them) through subsidiary legislation,” said Dr Balakrishnan.

“In addition, we’ll also study whether we need to further refine the current legislative framework to give legal effect to water restrictions. So what this means is during prolonged dry spells, we make it illegal to use water to wash the cars, or to use it on pavements or use it to water grass and lawns.”

Singapore has experienced dry weather in the first two months of this year, and Dr Balakrishnan said the plants are running at 70 per cent capacity, resulting in higher water levels at reservoirs than there would be otherwise.

More facilities will be built to cater to water needs: A third desalination plant will be built in Tuas, he said.

Underground space could be used to free up surface land for other uses, he said. National water agency PUB announced yesterday it will call a tender to study the feasibility of using underground space, including rock caverns, for the future redevelopment of its Kranji Water Reclamation Plant and NEWater factory.

The facility is due for redevelopment and expansion around 2030, PUB said. The 18-month consultancy study, expected to be completed by the end of next year, will look into design options for the plant and factory, such as the building of higher storeys, deeper basements and the usage of underground rock caverns.

Singapore’s water reclamation plants are currently built on surface land, with treatment process units housed in buildings above ground. Basements extend up to 70m below ground. NEWater factories have in recent years been housed on the rooftop of water reclamation plants to facilitate large-scale water recycling, such as in Changi and the upcoming one in Tuas.

PUB said challenges in constructing and operating a plant in an underground cavern include safety and ventilation requirements. Back-up systems are needed for power, odour control, air ventilation and other mechanical systems. The impact of potential floods or fires must also be mitigated.

“There needs to be careful assessment as we evaluate the impact of going underground and determine the most optimal options,” said PUB’s director of policy and planning William Yeo.

Alongside these efforts, the Government aims to reduce per capita daily domestic water consumption from 150.4 litres today, to 140 litres by 2030. The domestic sector accounts for 45 per cent of Singapore’s total water use of about 400 million gallons a day.