Percentage of Freshwater Bodies Open to Public for Recreation and Plans to Increase Access

Mr Shawn Huang Wei Zhong asked the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) what percentage of the freshwater bodies in Singapore are open to the public for recreation; and (b) whether there are plans to further open up access and increase the number of approved water activities in those freshwater bodies.

The Public Utilities Board (PUB) works closely with agencies such as Sport Singapore and People's Association and organisations such as the National Sports Associations to offer recreational water activities at eight reservoirs and two waterways1. Fishing is also currently allowed at designated sites in 10 reservoirs and five waterways2.

These agencies and organisations continually work with PUB to review the demand for such water recreational activities and the possibility of opening up more freshwater bodies for recreation uses.

For reservoirs, the recreational activities must, first and foremost, not impact their primary function, which is to serve as a source of raw water for treatment into potable water. Other important considerations include potential impacts on ecosystems within the freshwater bodies that could affect biodiversity and water quality, and the available space for other important uses, such as the deployment of floating solar photovoltaic systems as part of our sustainability efforts, in land-scarce Singapore.