Singapore gets serious with desalination ...
13 September 2005
Fourth National Tap Flows
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, today officially turned on Singapore’s Fourth National Tap – desalinated water.
This was at the opening of the $200 million SingSpring Desalination Plant in Tuas, in the Western part of Singapore.
The SingSpring desalination plant, the largest seawater reverse osmosis plant opened so far, is one of PUB’s pioneering public-private partnership (PPP) projects. Under this partnership, SingSpring will supply 30 million gallons of water a day (136,380 cubic metres) to PUB for 20 years. Construction of the desalination plant began in January 2004 and is now complete, three months ahead of schedule.
The latest source in Singapore's water supply strategy, desalinated water will add to the existing three water sources, namely water from local catchments, imported water and NEWater.
As Singapore is an island, looking to the sea as a source of water supply is a natural step for PUB, Singapore’s national water agency.
“Regardless of the source of our water, all drinking water produced by PUB meets the World Health Organisation’s Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality and desalinated water will go through the same stringent tests,” said Mr Tan.Desalinated water has been subjected to rigorous testing since April 2005 and will also be audited by PUB’s external audit panel.
Said Prof Ong Choon Nam, a water expert on the external audit panel and the Director of the Centre for Environmental and Occupational Health, Department of Community, Occupational & Family Medicine, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore: “Desalination technology is not new. Large desalination plants using thermal processes have been supplying water for potable use in Middle Eastern countries since the 1950s. Desalinated water is also used for drinking in Japan, Trinidad as well as countries in Europe.”
See - Singapore opens largest seawater reverse osmosis plant opened so far.
posted by Concerned Ratepayer at 7:31 AM
9 Comments:
Whay can't you read about Singapore's desal. plant on the Council's website?
11:08 AM, January 12, 2006
There are some things that the Toowoomba City Council does not want Toowoomba residents to see on its Water Futures website.
The Council wants to control the information flow - to make people think that recycling sewage for drinking is done all over the world (using pictures of Disneyland!), that scientists are completely happy that there are no health concerns whatsoever and that Singapore is the dream example.
Telling you that Singapore has added a desalination plant and will also add a new dam is not the story the Council wants you to hear.
1:12 PM, January 12, 2006
"By 2007 Singapore also plans to build a dam in front of its historic city centre, which will turn the estuary of three Singapore rivers into a huge freshwater reservoir by the time all the salt water is flushed out in 2009."
1:15 PM, January 12, 2006
At least one doctor in Toowoomba I know was very surprised to be told that Singapore had opened a desalination plant. Seems a certain "doctor" assisting the Council had been telling him how wonderful Singapore was with its recycled water.
Needless to say, he doesn't think much of the Council's "doctor" now.
1:34 PM, January 12, 2006
Looks like NEWater could be on the way out!! I wonder why?
1:05 AM, January 13, 2006
Concerned ratepayer and others might be well served to have a look at the Singapore PUB website . It makes it pretty clear that desalination is and always has been one of the 4 "National taps" planned. The others are water from Malaysia, reservoir water, and NEWater.
And by the way, why exactly would the council want to tell people about desalination - Toowoomba is a long way from the ocean.
People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones about only telling the part of the story.
7:56 AM, January 13, 2006
I have never said that Singapore does not have a four taps policy. Read the past blog articles more carefully.
"Why exactly would the council want to tell people about desalination."
Why indeed.
Let's just tell Toowoomba residents about NEWater and how Singapore recycles sewage for drinking.
Let's not tell them that recycled sewage isn't Singapore's only option.
Let's not tell them that Singapore has recently opened the largest desalination plant in Asia and are planning a new dam.
The Toowoomba City Council has relied heavily on Singapore's use of NEWater as justification for Toowoomba also recycling sewage (the Mayor even handed out NEWater on SBS).
Not once on the Toowoomba Water Futures website does it mention that Singapore has a four taps policy.
If you only listen to the Council, you would think that recycling sewage is Singapore's only water option.
It is the Toowoomba Water Futures website which has consistently given a one-sided view on this issue. Providing misinformation to ratepayers seems to be Council policy.
3:36 PM, January 13, 2006
Wonderful letter to the editor in the Chronicle:
"The world is round - therefore recycled sewage is safe."
That really is a great basis upon which to drink recycled sewage.
Reminds me of the seminar the Mayor spoke at last year. One of the other speakers said "recycled sewage plants are safe because look at what can go wrong when you have an accident at a nuclear plant".
With such wonderful thinking from these guys, it's a wonder the Council isn't telling them to stop helping!
3:50 PM, January 13, 2006
Soros criticizes Singapore's lack of political freedom
(Japan Economic Newswire Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)
SINGAPORE, Jan. 11_(Kyodo) _ U.S. billionaire financier and philanthropist George Soros on Wednesday criticized Singapore government leaders for using libel lawsuits to crush opposition politicians.
"Obviously, Singapore does not qualify as an open society," Soros said in response to a question at a forum on global open society in Singapore.
He observed that politicians from opposition parties have been slapped with lawsuits for libel, which often resulted in exorbitant financial penalties leading to their bankruptcy, and as a result barred them from running in political elections.
"The use of libel and financial penalties can be a tremendous hindrance to freedom of speech and freedom of expression," said Soros, who is founder and chairman of the Open Society Institute.
But he added, "Singapore is a prosperous society, and prosperity and openness go together...I hope Singapore will become an open society."
Speaking to reporters later, Soros said, "When people who express critical views are sued, and sued out of existence by imposing financial penalties, they are prevented from participating in political life."
"That is the deficiency of the system which I think by now could be abandoned."
In its annual report last year, the U.S. State Department criticized Singapore for using libel suits to intimidate the opposition, saying the threat stymies opposition parties.
Singapore has been ruled by the People's Action Party since independence, and opposition parties are generally weak and fragmented.
Under three decades of rule by Singapore's first prime minister Lee Kuan Yew until 1990, Singapore was transformed from a colonial backwater to become Southeast Asia's most advanced economy. But critics say the economic wealth that Singapore enjoys today has come at the price of political freedom.
Lee's elder son, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who took office in 2004, has promised to pursue greater "openness" and a kinder, gentler style of rule in which citizens would have more say in the political process.
9:54 PM, January 15, 2006
Post a Comment
<< Home