Singapore leading the way with water

At the recent OzWater Conference in Sydney, many companies from Australia and overseas showed off the latest in technology and developments for the water industry. All were cutting edge and very relevant to the management of water, but the one that stood out to me the most was the stand from Singapore.

Water in Singapore is a precious commodity, considering the small geographical size of the country. There are no natural freshwater rivers or lakes meaning that Singapore relies on rainwater and desalination as its primary sources of water.

The rainfall is collected in reservoirs and catchments and supplies around 50% of Singapore's water; the other 50% is imported from Malaysia. However, one of the contracts between Malaysia and Singapore is due to expire in 2011 (the other in 2061), which prompted the Singaporean government to look beyond the already established desalination plants and investigate the benefits of wastewater treatment.

According to leading academic and water expert, Professor Leo Tan, who was recently in Australia to attend the 2007 Cooperative Research Centres Association (CRCA) conference, it was more cost effective to build wastewater treatment plants than continue along the lines of desalination.

"When difficulties arose in re-negotiating a water lease with Malaysia, Singapore started thinking out of the box and came up with a number of innovative water management solutions," he says.

"One of these involves collecting all of the wastewater emanating from the nationwide sewerage system, treating it and converting it to be as pure as distilled water. This 'newater', as we call it, is then diluted with reservoir water to ensure the inclusion of essential salts and minerals before it is used as drinking water."

Professor Tan believes that for countries like Australia it is important to weigh up the merits of using recycled water. If they did, he says every drop of water could be recycled, which would literally take the pressure of the country's depleted dam and groundwater resources.

Innovative water-saving techniques

The Professor's Singaporean colleagues have also evaluated new forms of water-efficient agriculture such as a method of growing plants where their roots are suspended in mid-air and sprayed with a fine mist of nutrients; a technique known as 'aeroponics' originally conceived in Israel, but never developed beyond the concept stage.

"Aeroponics requires little water and is ideal for water-scarce countries or those subject to constant drought and water shortages," says Professor Tan.

"Aeroponics may well suit the Australian environment if drought becomes a persistent feature of climate change."