UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES

Mr Low Thia Khiang asked the Minister for Trade and Industry whether the Government has made any study on the possibility of using underground water resources in Singapore to supplement our water supply.

The Minister for Trade and Industry (Mr Lee Yock Suan): Mr Speaker, Sir, Singapore's water supply comes entirely from the collection of surface runoffs from rainfall. With the help of experts, PUB has carried out geo-physical and hydro-geological investigations on ground water resources. The findings reveal that there are no significant ground water sources available, even at relatively great depths.

Mr Low Thia Khiang (Hougang): Sir, is there any other effort that the Government would put in to develop water resources locally, in order not to be over-dependent on water supply from foreign countries?

Mr Lee Yock Suan: Yes, Sir, we have been doing it all these years. Water is very important for us. So we have been developing our own water resources to the maximum. We are now looking into desalination as well, as Members have been informed. We are also looking into other sources of water which are not so usable. They are non-potable water, but they could be used to supplement our sources for non-potable uses.

Mr Low Thia Khiang: Is there any target set by the Government in terms of self-sufficiency in water supply, ie, a certain percentage of water supply would be developed locally rather than depending entirely or the bulk of the supply from foreign sources?

Mr Lee Yock Suan: PUB has been working on the basis of about 50% from local sources. But as demand grows, it may not be easy to maintain that percentage.

Mr Jeyaretnam: May I ask the Minister, in view of the assurances that we are now getting from the Malaysian Government, in particular the Prime Minister of Malaysia, whether his Government intends to keep the tax on water as a permanent measure or whether the Government proposes to do away with it in the near future?

Mr Lee Yock Suan: The water taxes and the higher tariffs on water are very important to drive home the importance of water to Singaporeans and that we must always conserve our water resources. Whatever happens with our neighbours, whether we are able to get supplies, that is still uncertain. We must continue to look after our own security.

Mr Jeyaretnam: Is the Minister aware that the reason for introducing the tax was this fear that Malaysia was perhaps going to reduce its supply of water or even to cut it off? Was that not the reason for introducing the tax? Now that we are told that there will be no such thing, what is the purpose?

Mr Lee Yock Suan: May I ask the Member whether he will just carry on on the basis of such assurances, or should we look after our own security, not only on water, but in other aspects? Because water is really crucial. You need water to live on. So we must continue to have efforts to drive home the message and get people to conserve water. The purpose of the tax is to get people to conserve water. It is not to address the point whether Malaysia will cut off supply or not.

Mr Jeyaretnam: Is the Minister saying that he cannot accept the assurances given by the Malaysian government, particularly the Prime Minister? And secondly, is the Minister saying that there has been a significant drop in the consumption of water as a result of the tax and are there no other ways of getting people to reduce their consumption of water?

Mr Lee Yock Suan: Sir, I am not saying that we cannot take the assurances of our neighbours. But that is not sufficient. We need to have firm agreements. We need to be able to enforce them. If there are disputes, we need to be able to go somewhere to try and resolve the matter. The impact of the tariff increases has been very evident. Each time we increase the tariff, the consumption goes down. So we have to keep up the efforts, not only through tax means but through educating our public that water is very important to us, please conserve it.