I inspected a small Sewerage Treatment Plant (STP) that I commissioned some years ago to check on the current operating efficiency and found that the plant was still in good working order--the tilapia that we placed in the fish tank at the end of the process was alive and kicking, which meant that the wastewater treatment was going well. I remember asking several engineering companies from all over the world to take the project, and only one company from Singapore was bold enough to guarantee that the Biological Oxygen levels would meet local pollution standards. After viewing a documentary on how the Singaporeans have reduced their dependence on Malaysia for their water supply, I quickly understood why the Singaporeans are very capable in water treatment. Singapore currently relies of 4 water sources--imported water from Malaysia (40%), rainfall catchments (20%) which include the Marina Bay barrage catchment area, desalination (10%) and reclaimed or "New Water" (30%). The term "New Water" is their term for potable water recycled from wastewater. This is achieved by collecting city sewerage via the Deep Tunnel Sewerage System (DTSS), a gravity-operated 48-kilometer tunnel that runs from 20 meters underground to 55 meter underground throughout the city-state. Sludge is removed from the waste water and the waste water is aerated, and further treated to potable levels by reverse osmosis. When the water treaty with Malaysia ends in 2061, Singapore plans on having total self-sufficiency by increasing catchments, desalination plants and New Water production. A technological marvel, and lots of forward planning by the Public Utilities Board of Singapore--very impressive indeed!Wednesday, August 10, 2011
New Water
I inspected a small Sewerage Treatment Plant (STP) that I commissioned some years ago to check on the current operating efficiency and found that the plant was still in good working order--the tilapia that we placed in the fish tank at the end of the process was alive and kicking, which meant that the wastewater treatment was going well. I remember asking several engineering companies from all over the world to take the project, and only one company from Singapore was bold enough to guarantee that the Biological Oxygen levels would meet local pollution standards. After viewing a documentary on how the Singaporeans have reduced their dependence on Malaysia for their water supply, I quickly understood why the Singaporeans are very capable in water treatment. Singapore currently relies of 4 water sources--imported water from Malaysia (40%), rainfall catchments (20%) which include the Marina Bay barrage catchment area, desalination (10%) and reclaimed or "New Water" (30%). The term "New Water" is their term for potable water recycled from wastewater. This is achieved by collecting city sewerage via the Deep Tunnel Sewerage System (DTSS), a gravity-operated 48-kilometer tunnel that runs from 20 meters underground to 55 meter underground throughout the city-state. Sludge is removed from the waste water and the waste water is aerated, and further treated to potable levels by reverse osmosis. When the water treaty with Malaysia ends in 2061, Singapore plans on having total self-sufficiency by increasing catchments, desalination plants and New Water production. A technological marvel, and lots of forward planning by the Public Utilities Board of Singapore--very impressive indeed!
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the thought of drinking former waste water - even if its clean enough to give to a baby - is just scary. then again, i think of the water i drink from the tap at rich st. and new water is probably cleaner and safer than that. But like mom says, there's nothing like rich st. water - sweet and refreshing! Hee hee :)
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