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Water Demand Management in Singapore: Involving the Public

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Abstract

Water demand management requires the implementation of instruments and strategies that consider pricing, mandatory water conservation requirements and the engagement of the public and private sectors as well as of the society at large. In the case of Singapore, water is treated as an economic good. It is priced to recover the full costs of production and to reflect the scarcity of the resource and the high cost of developing additional water sources. Within a framework for water conservation, public education, information and awareness instruments have played a very important part in making the public appreciate the importance of conserving the resource. This paper analyses the water demand strategies that have been developed in the city-state, with emphasis on education efforts and on the results obtained in terms of water conservation. Lessons learnt from this study can provide very useful experiences for cities in developed and developing countries on the type of policies that could be successful in reducing consumption as well as in providing alternative supplies of water for both the domestic and the industrial sectors They also provide useful insights on the different ways to make the public realise the importance of using water sustainably for its long-term conservation even when immediate access to clean water may not be an issue.

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Notes

  1. The People’s Association (PA) was established in Singapore as a statutory board on 1 July 1960 with the objective to promote racial harmony and social cohesion in a multi-racial society. Its focal point is the more than 200 community centres.

  2. NEWater is very high quality recycled treated wastewater. It is supplied both for direct non-potable use (DNPU) to commercial and manufacturing processes that require water for cooling, and for indirect potable use (IPU) by introducing water into reservoirs for subsequent retreatment at the several waterworks for drinking purposes. In order to try to change the overall negative popular impression towards recycled water, wastewater was renamed as ‘NEWater’ or ‘used water’ and wastewater treatment plants renamed as ‘water reclamation plants’. More importantly, the new terms were part of a strategy which objective was to change the mindset of the population, stressing the new approach to water management by communicating to the public the need to look at water as a renewable resource that could be used over and over again. For further information, see PUB, http://www.pub.gov.sg/about/historyfuture/Pages/NEWater.aspx and Tan et al. 2009.

  3. For more information on the water agreements, see Singapore Parliamentary Debates 2003a, b, c, d.

  4. Both ‘Johor’ and ‘Johore’ are used in the agreements.

  5. HDB (Housing and Development Board) is the statutory board of the Ministry of National Development responsible for public housing in Singapore. The term ‘HDB flat’ is commonly used to refer to low-cost apartments built by the Board.

  6. For information on storm water collection in Singapore, see PUB http://www.pub.gov.sg/water/Pages/singaporewaterstory.aspx. Accessed on 17 January 2013

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Acknowledgements

This paper is part of a broader research project on urban water and wastewater management in Singapore sponsored by the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore, and the Third World Centre for Water Management, Mexico. The authors are most grateful to Public Utilities Board for providing us with data for our analyses and to the external reviewers for their insightful comments. The support of Simran Singh, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, is gratefully acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Third World Centre for Water Management, formerly Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore,, Avenida Manantial Oriente No. 27, Los Clubes, Atizapan, Estado de México, 52958, Mexico

    Cecilia Tortajada

  2. Northern Railway, formerly Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore, Delhi West, P.K. Road, New Delhi, 110055, India

    Yugal K. Joshi

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  1. Cecilia Tortajada
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  2. Yugal K. Joshi
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Correspondence to Cecilia Tortajada.

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Tortajada, C., Joshi, Y.K. Water Demand Management in Singapore: Involving the Public. Water Resour Manage 27, 2729–2746 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-013-0312-5

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