Recycled water would meet a third of Singapore's water needs by 2011, as it moves to reduce its decades-long reliance on neighboring Malaysia for the vital resource, the city-state said.
SINGAPORE -- Recycled water would meet a third of Singapore's water needs by 2011, as it moves to reduce its decades-long reliance on neighboring Malaysia for the vital resource, the city-state said.
"This puts us in a strong position to meet any future uncertainties in water supply," Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said late Thursday at the opening of the country's fourth plant designed to recycle and purify sewage into water.
The new plant, the largest of its kind in the country, will churn out 32 million gallons (121 million liters) of water daily, a statement from the city-state's water agency, PUB, said. PUB was formerly known as the Public Utilities Board.
The plant in Ulu Pandan, just outside the Central Business District, will supply water for industrial use and for air conditioning, landscaping and washing uses in the downtown commercial area, the agency said.
With the addition of the new plant, recycled water now makes up 15 percent of Singapore's water supply, a target originally set to be met by 2010, the statement said.
Singapore imports half its water from Malaysia, and has made self-sufficiency in water a national priority amid a lingering dispute with its neighbor over how much it should pay for the imports. The city-state's water agreements with Malaysia expire by 2061.
Singapore's water mains are currently also supplied from catchment areas and desalinated sea water.
Source: Associated Press
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