Dun Talk Cock Lah!: Singapore's Water concerns

Aerial Photos of Linggiu Reservoir in Johor.

Top - Reservoir at 25% capacity. Bottom - Reservoir at 100% capacity.

(Top: Photo by LHL; Bottom: Photo from Google Earth)

By PM Lee Hsien Loong via Facebook
Took this aerial photo (top) of Linggiu Reservoir in Johor on the way to China two weeks ago. The reservoir is only 25% full, after several dry years of low rainfall. The bottom photo, taken off Google Earth, shows what the reservoir looks like when full. The difference is stark, and worrying.

Singapore is fortunate to be sheltered from many natural disasters, but our water supply is still at the mercy of the weather. Our Four National Taps (http://bit.ly/2cq1tfW) have mitigated this, but we must still do all we can to conserve water. Use water wisely, avoid waste, and recycle wherever possible. Find out more ways to save precious water here: https://www.pub.gov.sg/savewater – LHL

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If you were living in Singapore, you wouldn't have known that Singapore is potentially facing a problem on the horizon in its water supply.

After all, our taps are all still flowing with clean drinkable water even though the weather hasn't been exactly kind to the region. March 2016 was one of our driest and hottest in recent times.

And the water situation in our region is becoming more serious.

There has been a drought in Malaysia with several of their reservoirs at below 50% capacity. And this has lead to a once unimaginable situation of Malaysia asking Singapore to supply more treated water. Perhaps a more direct impact of the Malaysian drought is the resulting smaller durian harvests and the increases in durian prices.

Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, Cambodia, Vietnam and Myanmar have all been affected as well. As the Wall Street Journal puts it, 'El Nino wreaks havoc across Southeast Asia.'

But obviously, Singapore has been doing much to mitigate the impact of this looming water crisis in the region. In April 2016, the Govt announced that it will be building not just one, but two more desalination plants to further enhance our water resilience. When completed, Singapore would have 5 desalination plants, in addition to the four NEWater Plants (recycled water).

So please, when you turn on that tap today, do try to use less water. Every drop is precious.

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