Singapore is a small country with a population of 4.3 milion and a total land area of 700 sq km. As a dense city state, Singapore is one of the world’s most water-stressed countries in terms of renewable water resources. Although there is no lack of rainfall, there is limited land for water catchment.
As the national water agency, PUB faces the challenge of supplying water for all Singaporeans, as well as meeting the demands of the country’s thriving industry and commence. To meet this challenge, PUB has successfully put in place a holistic approach to water resource management. PUB oversees the entire water loop, from sourcing, collection, purification and supply of drinking water, to the treatment of used water and its reclamation as well as the drainage of storm water. PUB has implemented the Four National Taps, a long-term water supply strategy that ensures a diversified, adequate and reliable supply of water. The Four National Taps comprises water from local catchment, water imported from Malaysia, NEWater/high-grade reclaimed water and desalinated water. This alone is not enough to ensure sustainability of the water resources. PUB recognizes the importance of an engaged community as a vital part in the management of Singapore’s water resources. PUB actively fosters the participation and involvement of the 3P (People, Private & Public) sectors in playing their part to conserve water, keep the catchments and waterways clean and build a closer relationship with water by enjoying this precious resource. This unique and total approach is well-encapsulated in PUB’s corporate vision: Water for All: Conserve, Value, Enjoy.
One of the 4 National Taps is water from local catchments. To maximize the amount of rainfall that can be collected, over half of the total land area in Singapore has been designated as water catchment, one of the highest proportion of water catchments in any city in the world. Going further, with the completion of Marina Reservoir and Punggol-Serangoon Reservoir by 2009, two-thirds of Singapore will become water catchment.
Singapore has an extensive network of blue waterways i.e. rivers, canals, drains, spread all over the island which drains into our reservoirs. As Singapore is a small city-state, extending our water catchments to two-thirds of the island means that these waterways run through urbanized areas where Singaporeans live, work and play. This poses a challenge as incidences of pollution in urbanized catchments are much higher. Litter that is carelessly thrown into drains and canals are washed together with the rain water into the drainage system, eventually ending up in the reservoirs. PUB is clear that it needs to enrol the support of the 3P sectors in order to realize its vision of Water For All: Conserve, Value, Enjoy.
Winning the hearts and minds is essential to gain the support of the 3P sectors. Therefore instead of depending on punitive measures and surveillance to prevent pollution, PUB has adopted a distinctive and innovative 3P (People, Public, Private) approach through the Active, Beautiful and Clean (ABC) Waters Programme.
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