Public Education to Use Water Wisely

Er Dr Lee Bee Wah asked the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, in view of expected dry spells and extremities in weather conditions (a) what are the short-term and long-term measures of the Government to deal with this problem; and (b) whether there will be more public education to encourage citizens to use water wisely.

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Dr Vivian Balakrishnan: PUB is preparing for the consequences of weather extremities. Besides flood risks, PUB is working on strengthening the long-term resilience of Singapore's water supply against the risk of drought.

By adopting an integrated approach to water management, PUB has put in place a diversified water supply system comprising the Four National Taps (local catchment water, imported water, NEWater and desalinated water) to assure us of a robust and sustainable water supply. In particular, NEWater and desalination are not dependent on rainfall and thus more resilient against dry weather.

PUB has been increasing the capacity of local water sources. Marina, Punggol and Serangoon reservoirs have increased Singapore's water catchment area from half to two-thirds of the total land area. Singapore's second desalination plant, with a capacity of 70 million gallons per day, is expected to be completed in 2013. In tandem with future water demand growth, PUB plans to increase NEWater and desalination capacities to meet 50% and 30% of water demand respectively by 2060.

Water conservation is another important strategy in ensuring Singapore's long-term water sustainability. To encourage water users to use water efficiently, PUB undertakes extensive outreach efforts under the "10 Litre Challenge" and "10% Challenge" programmes for the domestic and non-domestic water users respectively.

Initiatives under the "10 Litre Challenge" include the Water Efficient Homes (WEH) Programme, where PUB officers and volunteers visit households with high water consumption to install water saving devices and share water saving tips. The Mandatory Water Efficiency Labelling Scheme (MWELS) also helps consumers make more informed purchasing decisions and encourages suppliers to introduce more water efficient products.

The "10% Challenge" raises the awareness and capability of businesses to improve their water efficiency. One of the key initiatives is the Water Efficient Buildings (WEB) certification, where buildings are certified when they successfully implement water efficiency measures. PUB has also worked with BCA to include Water Efficient Building design as a criterion under the Green Mark certification for buildings.

Last year, PUB launched its Water Conservation Programme to promote wise water use. The public responded well with more than 10,000 requests for water saving kits during the Programme. This year, PUB will again run the Programme from end February. Apart from outreach through television commercials, this year's Programme will involve students more deeply through social media platforms and in seeking their ideas on how they can save water.

Through the range of measures, Singapore's daily domestic water consumption per capita has decreased from 165 litres in 2003 to 153 litres in 2011. Our long-term target is to lower this further to 147 litres in 2020 and 140 litres in 2030, as set out in the Sustainable Singapore Blueprint.