MACRITCHIE RESERVOIR (Measures to prevent water pollution)

Mr Tang See Chim asked the Deputy Prime Minister whether he is aware of any measures being taken by the Public Utilities Board to prevent water pollution now that a bridge and a band-stand have been built over the water in MacRitchie Reservoir and whether he will inform the House of such measures.

Dr Toh Chin Chye: Mr Speaker, Sir, the question is a very timely one and I am quite sure there are many people who share the anxiety expressed by the Member for Choa Chu Kang on the necessity to keep the waters in MacRitchie Reservoir and elsewhere clean and unpolluted. I would like to say that members of the public who visit the reservoir should be fully conscious of the dangers of polluting the water in the reservoir and urge them to cooperate to prevent such contamination from occurring.

I would like to point out to Members of the House that there have been many cases in recent history when there were outbreaks of infectious hepatitis, a disease which affects the liver, in several countries - Hongkong, Germany, Sweden, India - and on investigation it has been found that the source of this epidemic has been traced to water being contaminated by sewage either at the point of intake of the water from the reservoir or river or in the distribution system. The worst outbreak of this disease, hepatitis, was in New Delhi in 1955/56 when there were 30,000 to 50,000 cases. The virus causing hepatitis is resistant to standard methods of purification used by municipalities. Treatment with large doses of chlorine is necessary to destroy the virus but this raises enormously the cost of purified water.

The possibility of contaminating the reservoirs in Singapore comes from picnickers who wash or swim in the reservoirs. As it is not possible to make a complete patrol of the reservoirs, we can only appeal to the civic consciousness of the picnickers and hikers in the reservoirs not to bathe in the reservoirs or to allow dogs to enter the water. As a note of warning to all adventurous people, I would like to add that the reservoir is very deep and in many parts the bed is muddy. Bathing and swimming in the reservoir can, there fore, be very dangerous to the swimmer who may get stuck in the mud and drown.

The Public Utilities Board is in the process of drawing up regulations to prevent water pollution in the MacRitchie Reservoir and misuse of the MacRitchie Reservoir Park. These regulations will, among other things, prohibit fishing and bathing in the reservoir or streams, spitting in the park, eating or smoking on the bridge in MacRitchie Reservoir Park, and litter, rubbish or other refuse must be thrown into receptacles which are specially provided for them. The Board has formed a MacRitchie Reservoir Park Committee to look after the maintenance of the park and to ensure that visitors comply with the regulations. A number of patrolmen have been employed to patrol the whole area of the park grounds and more will be recruited to ensure that the regulations, when promulgated, are not violated by visitors. It is not the intention of the Public Utilities Board unnecessarily to impose rules and regulations on all those who visit MacRitchie Reservoir Park, but I think all of us will agree that the park will look more attractive not only to our citizens but also to all tourists and visitors if we ourselves, the public, make a particular effort to keep the place clean.