Water
Content
Water/resources
World's mounting water woes The United States loses billions of litres of clean water daily through leaks in pipes. At the same time, water disputes have arisen among its states. World Water Week is marked this month (March), with a number of events taking place in Singapore Dismal revelations in China of 6,000 dead pigs, possibly diseased, dumped into a river supplying tap water to Shanghai. Singapore has turned water adversity to advantage over the decades The Singapore model of "Four National Taps", progressively developed over 40 years, is now widely lauded. National water agency PUB deserves credit for the nation's robust water supply made up of local catchment water, purified reclaimed water (Newater), desalinated water and imported water. Thanks to these efforts, water is no longer such a source of existential angst among Singaporeans. Instead, water is a growing industry in Singapore, which is able to export its expertise. But this success risks causing some to assume that water will always flow at the turn of a tap. Water conservation is not the PUB's job alone. Efforts will have to be kept up to get more Singaporeans, especially the young, to recognise the critical role they have to play in safeguarding every precious drop.
SINGAPORE: Increasing the flow of water from national taps E.g. of water research: The researchers from Siemens Water Technologies are testing a way to use electrical charges to extract salt from seawater – halves the energy demand of desalination (seawater is currently treated in a desalination plant in Tuas by forcing it through filters) By 2060, PUB said, the country's water usage could double to almost 800 million gallons a day, enough to fill more than 1,200 Olympic-size swimming pools each day. Malaysia's agreement to supply water to Singapore expires in 2061. In 1965, the three reservoirs supplied less than 20 per cent of the country's needs. Today, there are 17 reservoirs and rainwater that falls on two-thirds of the island is funnelled into them. Desalinated water, reclaimed used water and treated rainwater now provide nearly 50 per cent of Singapore's water needs Mr Lee asked engineers to "estimate Singapore's annual rainfall, the technical feasibility to capture every drop, and whether this measure could make the island self-sufficient in water". To sustain that goal, PUB plans to expand the catchment area to 90 per cent. Theoretically, rainwater can be harvested from the entire island, said PUB director George Madhavan, but this may be too costly. The goal is for treated seawater to meet up to 25 per cent of Singapore's water needs by 2060, up from just 10 per cent now.
But the centrepiece of Singapore's water plan is still Newater, made up of reclaimed used water. The first two Newater plants were opened in Bedok and Kranji in 2003. There are now two more in Ulu Pandan and Changi. Most of the ultra- clean water is used for industrial processes and to cool air-conditioners because they need highly purified water. This frees up potable water for households. PUB wants the home-grown invention to become Singapore's biggest tap by 2060, supplying up to 55 per cent of the country's needs - almost twice the 30 per cent it meets now. But Mr Chew said that Singaporeans - and whether they save or waste water - will write the next chapter of the water story.
Water: A Global Challenge; INDIA: Summer of Discontent Looming India: water supply and management have not kept pace with population growth, infrastructure development, urbanisation, etc + states are not doing enough to look after water resources With so much pressure put to bear on the country's water resources, the search for this precious commodity is going deeper underground. More water is being drawn than replenished as people resort to illegal acts such as putting in pumps and digging wells to supplement an unreliable supply from the municipal authorities. In rural areas, farmers are also digging deeper to water their land. A World Bank report last year warned that 60 per cent of aquifers - underground layers of water-bearing permeable rock - will "reach a critical condition" in 20 years if the exploitation of groundwater continues. The state's Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan admitted that poor planning and misuse of money meant for irrigation projects over the years have made the situation even worse. Some 80 per cent of the sewage in urban centres is released back into the water system without being treated. The water footprint has also gone up with changing lifestyles where people put in jacuzzis and use showers With some states suffering acute shortages, the Indian government is working to update the water policy, including setting up a central water regulatory body.
Anxiety over control of rivers’ tap NEW DELHI/BEIJING - As the populations of Asian economies from India and China to Vietnam and Pakistan grow amid rapid urbanisation, so too does the demand for water and alternative power. Some have described China as a hydro-hegemon, owing to its status as the source country of several key rivers that flow to countries like India, Laos and Myanmar from the Mekong, Yarlung Tsangpo, Indus, Irrawaddy, Sutlej and the Salween. India is particularly alarmed by Chinese plans to build three hydropower dams - Dagu, Jiacha and Jiexy - along the middle stretches of the Brahmaputra River that flows from China into India's north-east and through to Bangladesh. Many in India have in recent years voiced concerns that China's activities effectively give Beijing control over the "tap", which it could use against New Delhi.
Not helping matters is China's firm rejection of the concept of a water-sharing arrangement or a rules-based management of common resources like water. As the Asian economic boom continues, water could become a new flashpoint as competition for the precious resource hots up among neighbours.
ST: 18 March 2013 How virtual water is lost Several of the world's most water-scarce regions are producing the most water-intensive crops - for example, water-intensive rice grown in arid parts of Australia, Mexico and the American West for export to Asia or Europe. Many of these water-intensive crops are traded globally along with their water content and the water consumed in the production process. The trade, now referred to as virtual water exports, constitutes a net loss of water from water-scarce regions. Virtual water is the embedded water used to produce agricultural and industrial goods. It takes more water overall to produce water- intensive crops in water-scarce regions. This constitutes an inefficient use of water. For example, it requires twice as much water to produce grain in water-scarce regions as in water-rich regions. It also means that global coordination is needed as water scarcity increases. Water scarcity and food security are inextricably linked. Based on scarce land and water resources, SINGAPORE and Malaysia have used the international food market to import water-intensive grains and meats; they export mostly non-agricultural value-added manufactured goods. This lets them maintain food security while harnessing scarce water resources for competing uses. Correcting inefficiency in global water-use requires substantial international coordination. It is the dearth of information about the hidden water trade and the current lack of coordination that perpetuates global water-use inefficiencies.
World's mounting water woes The United States loses billions of litres of clean water daily through leaks in pipes. At the same time, water disputes have arisen among its states. World Water Week is marked this month (March), with a number of events taking place in Singapore Dismal revelations in China of 6,000 dead pigs, possibly diseased, dumped into a river supplying tap water to Shanghai. Singapore has turned water adversity to advantage over the decades The Singapore model of "Four National Taps", progressively developed over 40 years, is now widely lauded. National water agency PUB deserves credit for the nation's robust water supply made up of local catchment water, purified reclaimed water (Newater), desalinated water and imported water. Thanks to these efforts, water is no longer such a source of existential angst among Singaporeans. Instead, water is a growing industry in Singapore, which is able to export its expertise. But this success risks causing some to assume that water will always flow at the turn of a tap. Water conservation is not the PUB's job alone. Efforts will have to be kept up to get more Singaporeans, especially the young, to recognise the critical role they have to play in safeguarding every precious drop.
SINGAPORE: Increasing the flow of water from national taps E.g. of water research: The researchers from Siemens Water Technologies are testing a way to use electrical charges to extract salt from seawater – halves the energy demand of desalination (seawater is currently treated in a desalination plant in Tuas by forcing it through filters) By 2060, PUB said, the country's water usage could double to almost 800 million gallons a day, enough to fill more than 1,200 Olympic-size swimming pools each day. Malaysia's agreement to supply water to Singapore expires in 2061. In 1965, the three reservoirs supplied less than 20 per cent of the country's needs. Today, there are 17 reservoirs and rainwater that falls on two-thirds of the island is funnelled into them. Desalinated water, reclaimed used water and treated rainwater now provide nearly 50 per cent of Singapore's water needs Mr Lee asked engineers to "estimate Singapore's annual rainfall, the technical feasibility to capture every drop, and whether this measure could make the island self-sufficient in water". To sustain that goal, PUB plans to expand the catchment area to 90 per cent. Theoretically, rainwater can be harvested from the entire island, said PUB director George Madhavan, but this may be too costly. The goal is for treated seawater to meet up to 25 per cent of Singapore's water needs by 2060, up from just 10 per cent now.
But the centrepiece of Singapore's water plan is still Newater, made up of reclaimed used water. The first two Newater plants were opened in Bedok and Kranji in 2003. There are now two more in Ulu Pandan and Changi. Most of the ultra- clean water is used for industrial processes and to cool air-conditioners because they need highly purified water. This frees up potable water for households. PUB wants the home-grown invention to become Singapore's biggest tap by 2060, supplying up to 55 per cent of the country's needs - almost twice the 30 per cent it meets now. But Mr Chew said that Singaporeans - and whether they save or waste water - will write the next chapter of the water story.
Water: A Global Challenge; INDIA: Summer of Discontent Looming India: water supply and management have not kept pace with population growth, infrastructure development, urbanisation, etc + states are not doing enough to look after water resources With so much pressure put to bear on the country's water resources, the search for this precious commodity is going deeper underground. More water is being drawn than replenished as people resort to illegal acts such as putting in pumps and digging wells to supplement an unreliable supply from the municipal authorities. In rural areas, farmers are also digging deeper to water their land. A World Bank report last year warned that 60 per cent of aquifers - underground layers of water-bearing permeable rock - will "reach a critical condition" in 20 years if the exploitation of groundwater continues. The state's Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan admitted that poor planning and misuse of money meant for irrigation projects over the years have made the situation even worse. Some 80 per cent of the sewage in urban centres is released back into the water system without being treated. The water footprint has also gone up with changing lifestyles where people put in jacuzzis and use showers With some states suffering acute shortages, the Indian government is working to update the water policy, including setting up a central water regulatory body.
Anxiety over control of rivers’ tap NEW DELHI/BEIJING - As the populations of Asian economies from India and China to Vietnam and Pakistan grow amid rapid urbanisation, so too does the demand for water and alternative power. Some have described China as a hydro-hegemon, owing to its status as the source country of several key rivers that flow to countries like India, Laos and Myanmar from the Mekong, Yarlung Tsangpo, Indus, Irrawaddy, Sutlej and the Salween. India is particularly alarmed by Chinese plans to build three hydropower dams - Dagu, Jiacha and Jiexy - along the middle stretches of the Brahmaputra River that flows from China into India's north-east and through to Bangladesh. Many in India have in recent years voiced concerns that China's activities effectively give Beijing control over the "tap", which it could use against New Delhi.
Not helping matters is China's firm rejection of the concept of a water-sharing arrangement or a rules-based management of common resources like water. As the Asian economic boom continues, water could become a new flashpoint as competition for the precious resource hots up among neighbours.
ST: 18 March 2013 How virtual water is lost Several of the world's most water-scarce regions are producing the most water-intensive crops - for example, water-intensive rice grown in arid parts of Australia, Mexico and the American West for export to Asia or Europe. Many of these water-intensive crops are traded globally along with their water content and the water consumed in the production process. The trade, now referred to as virtual water exports, constitutes a net loss of water from water-scarce regions. Virtual water is the embedded water used to produce agricultural and industrial goods. It takes more water overall to produce water- intensive crops in water-scarce regions. This constitutes an inefficient use of water. For example, it requires twice as much water to produce grain in water-scarce regions as in water-rich regions. It also means that global coordination is needed as water scarcity increases. Water scarcity and food security are inextricably linked. Based on scarce land and water resources, SINGAPORE and Malaysia have used the international food market to import water-intensive grains and meats; they export mostly non-agricultural value-added manufactured goods. This lets them maintain food security while harnessing scarce water resources for competing uses. Correcting inefficiency in global water-use requires substantial international coordination. It is the dearth of information about the hidden water trade and the current lack of coordination that perpetuates global water-use inefficiencies.
