SAFE WATER SUPPLY

Mr Simon S. C. Tay asked the Minister for the Environment whether Singapore's water supply remains safe for human consumption and its coastal water safe for swimming and water sports following the recent chemical fire in Tuas.

The Minister for the Environment (Mr Yeo Cheow Tong): Sir, the recent fire in Tuas poses no danger at all to the safety of our water supply.

The factory that was destroyed by fire on 7th March 1998 is located outside PUB's water catchment area. Water that was used to fight the fire was also discharged outside the water catchment area into the sea at the Northern Tuas Basin. The basin and the surrounding area are not used for swimming and other recreational activities. Nonetheless, as a precaution, we alerted the factories in the vicinity immediately to warn their workers not to use the water in the basin. We also issued a press statement on 7th March 1998 to advise members of the public to keep out of the area. By 9th March, the quality of the water in the Northern Tuas Basin had returned to normal.

Sir, to protect our water resources, my Ministry requires industries that use or store hazardous chemicals to be sited in designated areas such as Tuas and the Jurong industrial estates, which are outside water catchment areas.

Mr Zulkifli Bin Baharudin (Nominated Member): Sir, in view of the high concentration of chemical industries in that part of the island, I just like to ask whether there are special provisions to ensure that a major catastrophe would not contaminate our water around that area.

Mr Yeo Cheow Tong: Sir, even though these are designated sites, we have very stringent requirements in place. For example, at the building plan stage, my Ministry would have already checked and ensured that there are adequate measures such as containment facilities, leak detection and warning devices, emergency plans in case something happens. All these are ready at the planning stage, even before the building plans are approved. This is to ensure that in the case of any accident, we are able to limit the damage to the environment and the health threats to not just the general population, but to people working in the immediate vicinity as well.