Adequacy of Singapore's Water Supply and Infrastructure and Plans to Build Water Resilience and Security

Mr Christopher de Souza asked the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) whether Singapore's water supply and infrastructure continues to be adequate; and (b) what further plans are there to build water resilience and security, including reducing industrial water consumption and increasing the efficiency of used water treatment.

Singapore has a robust and diversified water supply, due to years of continued planning, research and development, investments in our water infrastructure and technology. We have a diversified “Four National Taps” water supply framework – water from our local catchment, imported water, NEWater and desalinated water. This puts us in a good position to deal with the unpredictable and more extreme weather patterns brought about by climate change.

PUB, our national water agency, takes a long-term approach towards our water supply strategy. PUB regularly reviews its infrastructure plans in consultation with other Government agencies as well as industries. This allows PUB to develop water infrastructure ahead of demand and plan for contingencies.

Water recycling is a key part of our strategy to meet long-term water demands. The Deep Tunnel Sewerage System (DTSS), a long-term project costing about $10 billion, enables the collection of every drop of used water for large-scale recycling. The overall project, including the Tuas Water Reclamation Plant (TWRP), is scheduled to be completed by 2026. The TWRP will employ advanced treatment technologies to treat domestic used water and bolster our NEWater production, as well as reclaim industrial used water for reuse. PUB will also be expanding our NEWater production capacities with the construction of Changi NEWater Factory 3. We recently opened our fifth desalination plant on Jurong Island in April 2022, further strengthening our water security.

Managing our water demand is just as crucial in ensuring water resilience. PUB has implemented many facilitative and mandatory measures to increase the water efficiency of households and businesses. For businesses, these include the development of Water Efficiency Benchmarks and Best Practice Guides and the mandatory submission of Water Efficiency Management Plan by large water users. Funding and technical support for water conservation projects are also provided to companies through the Water Efficiency Fund and the Industrial Water Solutions Demonstration Fund.

With climate change, Singapore will continue to experience more extreme weather patterns, including prolonged dry spells. Even as the Government continues to invest in our water infrastructure and technology, everyone must do our part to conserve water and make every drop count.